David Bell says inspections will be shorter but not easier

"Shorter and sharper" inspections which rely on self-evaluation by the school are being introduced.

Of 86 schools visited by Ofsted, 56% were rated good and 8% outstanding.

The chief inspector of schools David Bell said schools should not be surprised if inspections are tougher this year.

Of the remaining schools visited, 28% were judged satisfactory and 6% inadequate, with notice given to improve.

One school was placed in special measures.

Worrying failures

Mr Bell said he was pleased that 92% were providing at least a satisfactory standard of education, but that the schools inspected so far represented a small proportion of the 25,000 inspected over the course of the year.

The Secondary Heads Association has said although it is early to pass judgement on the new system, the number of schools deemed to be inadequate was worrying.

The head teachers had warned previously that the system would lead to more schools failing.

Parents and pupils are invited to give their views to inspectors under the new system.

They are sent a questionnaire before the inspection, and receive feedback following the report.

"Parents views are vital in forming a rounded view of the standard of education provided by the school," Mr Bell said.

Inspection changes Shorter notice - one or two days Shorter inspections - two days instead of five Schools' self-evaluation is central Simpler grading from 1 (outstanding) to 4 (inadequate) Children's views on school become more important

In the chief inspector of schools' annual report covering the academic year 2003/2004, 19% of primary schools were judged excellent or very good, and 48% good.

For secondary schools the figures were 20% and 49%.

However this year the previous seven-point achievement system has been replaced.

Schools can now be rated either outstanding, good, satisfactory or inadequate.

There is a new set of criteria for each of the four new grades.

Schools typically receive just two days' notice of an inspection rather than the previous long notice period of six to ten weeks, which led to anxiety among teaching staff.

And the inspection report will be available to the school within a month, rather than after three months.

Mr Bell said inspectors would "really get to the issues" and would be checking a school's own evaluation of its performance.

The main objective was always to raise standards, he said, and the new inspections were "laying down a marker".

He said he could not rule out unannounced inspections where there were "serious concerns" about a school.