ABSTRACT
Ofsted inspectors’ power derives partly from government legitimacy, and partly from the ‘knowledge’ that Ofsted accumulates. Lee and Fitz (1997, p. 49) argue that Ofsted
not merely holds and controls information, but via the process of analysis and publication configures a powerful discourse in education. The central database leaves it in a strong position as custodians of ‘knowledge’ with the ability to reproduce and reformulate that knowledge in policy making.
