Ofsted is promoting child-led teaching methods in schools and unfairly punishing those that prefer more traditional styles, a new report from Civitas has stated.

Analysis of 260 Ofsted Section 5 inspections has led the thinktank to conclude that the official body for scrutinising schools has a preference for newfangled approaches to education, the merits of which have yet to be proven.

Civitas says that despite evidence to the contrary, which suggests that teacher-led strategies of engagement are still more effective, Ofsted is clearly biased in its assessment, marking highly those who deliver "jazzy" lessons.

In its survey, the thinktank said that the assertions from individuals like Sir Michael Wilshaw, chief inspector of schools, have been proved wrong.

The idea that Ofsted is delivering a balanced assessment of teaching is mistaken and any reforms that have been made are "superficial" in nature – the language of reports has changed, but very little else.

While Robert Peal, a history teacher and education research fellow at Civitas, has called for the abolition of the "quality of teaching" grade in Ofsted reports, the thinktank wants the government to go further.

David G. Green, director of Civitas, explained in his foreword that there is only one answer to "excessive Whitehall interference" – completely transform Ofsted so that it is unrecognisable as it stands today.

"It is institutionally locked into the era of central compliance and managerially hostile to school autonomy," he expanded.

"Sir Michael Wilshaw has freely admitted that he is in favour of central prescription, but experience of Ofsted since the early 1990s reveals that it has not been the consistent and trustworthy ally of high standards in education."

Other findings in the report, entitled Playing the Game: The enduring influence of the preferred Ofsted teaching style, included inspector preferences for group work, non-direct teaching methods and penalising teachers who "talked too much".

"The arguments put forward in this report are largely reheated ones," a spokesman for Ofsted said in response to the findings.

"What matters to Ofsted is what matters to parents - ensuring that schools are delivering the best possible education for their children. As HM chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw has repeatedly made clear, Ofsted does not have a preferred teaching style. It is up to the classroom teacher to determine how they should teach."