School leaders need to do more to transform the way they approach Ofsted inspections, according to schools minister David Laws.

Speaking recently in a TES webchat, Mr Laws argued that headteachers are unnecessarily increasing the workload of their teachers by demanding more from them in the run up to assessments.

The MP explained that Ofsted has been cited by teachers as one of the main reasons why they are so overworked.

He advocates that the inspection system needs to be overhauled to make them more efficient, more effective and more transparent.

“Firstly, we need to make sure the targeting of inspections is proportional to the challenges in schools,” Mr Laws said during the webchat.

“Secondly, we must avoid the burden sometimes placed on teachers by headteachers who may think they have to follow whatever methods have been praised by Ofsted in other schools.”

He added that this should not be taken as an attack on Ofsted, as most politicians “strongly support” the work it does.

Nevertheless, it is evident that there is a lot of work to be done to “address some of the misconceptions” about the inspection body.

Last month, Mr Laws called on the government to set up an independent Education Standards Authority.

This, he said, is important because it will help bring an end to the “corrosive impact” politicians have when devising education policies.

"We'll have a better education system if the degree of political volatility is reduced and policy-making is based more on evidence and less on what suits the politicians in control,” the schools minister said at the time.