Education secretary Gavin Williamson says parents deserve to know if their children are continuing to receive a ‘great education’

Outstanding schools in England will no longer be exempt from routine Ofsted inspections, education secretary Gavin Williamson has announced. The move is one of several government measures intended to bolster education standards.

The new, expanded inspection programme aims to ensure that parents get up-to-date information and can be confident that schools rated outstanding continue to provide the highest standards, said Williamson. “Every parent wants to know their child is getting a great education and I will leave no stone unturned in my drive to deliver that,” he said.

Since 2012, once rated outstanding, English schools have been exempt from routine inspections to free them from external intervention. But many schools need up-to-date comparative performance information and parents deserve greater assurance that the education provided remains of the highest quality, Williamson has decided. His department will consult on how best to do this, subject to parliamentary approval, and bring these schools back into a regular inspection cycle.

A new specialist academy trust will also be set up to take on schools struggling with long-term under-performance. The scheme is to be piloted in northern England.

Sunday’s announcement comes days after the prime minister, Boris Johnson, pledged a £14bn boost for education and outlined ambitions to close the gap in standards across England. The funding package includes £2.6bn for 2020-21, £4.8bn for 2021-22, and £7.1bn for 2022-23. This will bring the budget to £52.2bn.

Ofsted’s latest figures shows that 84% of all free English schools with inspection reports published by the end of June are rated as good or outstanding.

• This article was amended on 2 September 2019 to make explicit that the new measures apply to England. Education is devolved, so other parts of the United Kingdom control their own policies.