OFSTED and libraries in first and primary schools: Some observations on expectations

Little research has investigated the treatment of school libraries in OFSTED reports. This paper is devoted to a recent study that has examined the conclusions reached by inspectors visiting first and primary schools in a metropolitan borough in northern England. Forty-four reports relating to schools of these types were subjected to rigorous content analysis. Libraries were not given great prominence in the reports. Indeed, in 41 percent of them the school library was not referred to at all. Where the library was mentioned, inspectors typically emphasized the need for the organization to make a significant contribution to pupils' wider educational achievement.