ABSTRACT
The 1954 Working Party, faced with a rapid growth in the number of schools, considered that it would be undesirable for the number of inspectors to be increased pro rata. It therefore recommended that Her Majesty's Inspectorate (HMI), while retaining its major functions, should review its methods of working, relieving workload problems by having less frequent inspections and smaller inspection teams. The House of Commons Select Committee on Education was formed in 1967 and on 27 February 1968 a preliminary meeting was held concerning the forthcoming investigation of HMI. In independent schools, the Select Committee considered that HMI should continue to offer advice and should carry out less thorough inspections, some of which could be made by the inspectors of the larger Local education authorities (LEAs). In its response to the Expenditure Committee Report, the Department of Education and Science rejected the proposed Chief Scientist's organisation, preferring to establish a new unit under a Chief Inspector.
