How do I find out about becoming an OFSTED inspector?

[OhTheGlamour]

There is only one vacancy on their website which seems a bit unlikely.
I am tentatively thinking about this career move - with regard to Early Years. I can't see anything about necessary qualifications/experience, or about pay.

Does anyone out there work for OFSTED please?

Two friends of mine are OFSTED inspectors. One is a head teacher, the other is a former local authority advisory teacher. They are both 45 ish, so definitely not old, or near the end of their careers.

Old ad but gives job spec
www.careers.ofsted.gov.uk/admin/uploaded/2618_AI_Job_Spec.pdf

I know an inspector they tell me...Inspectors now work on a freelance basis and are allocated work according to need. The training to become an inspector is intensive and you must fund it yourself, there is no guarantee of work afterwards. Expenses such as petrol are not paid and you are likely to work some distance from your home- therefore the money is very average and not as quoted in other posts. You also need to do continued CPD and fund this yourself. New inspector training happens in batches and not all make it. It can be quite lonely and hard going- no one is ever pleased to see you and it can be stressful. It is a job you either love of hate and doesn't suit everyone.

This thread is not helpful to the OP and frankly some of the responses don't do the teaching profession any favours. Whatever your views about how Ofsted works, it is a necessary organisation and it needs staff. All sensibly run professions are audited and inspected - usually by an outside authority. I work for an FSA-authorised entity so we are subject to an FSA inspection at any time and we have our own quarterly compliance consultants plus obviously the annual audit process. The auditors' job is to review what I do and criticise it where necessary. But they are not the enemy.

Is your post helpful to the OP margoandjerry?

no because I don't know anything about becoming an ofsted inspector. But I'm interested (someone I know is interested in that path) so came onto the thread to learn. There's nothing wrong with not being able to answer the question - there is something wrong with dismissing a legitimate question.

I posted a link earlier to job spec at the OFSTED site if your friend is interested

I looked at this a couple of years agp -what I remeber from the advert was that it was working from home, think you had to be a substantially qualified social worker and it was £64000