Mark Sims
Former HMI, Maintained Schools and Academies
Mark Sims
Former HMI, Maintained Schools and Academies
Mark Sims has been an inspector of schools, local authorities and ITE providers since 1998. He gained accreditation in inspecting English, Urdu and equalities.
Between 2004 and 2023 he was one of Her/His Majesty’s Inspectors (HMI). For 16 years he was Ofsted’s lead for EAL, ESOL and Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Pupils, leading training for inspectors on EAL and race equality.
He led national surveys for Ofsted, including Every Language Matters (2008) and Removing Barriers for Roma Pupils (2014). He has represented Ofsted on policy issues with the DfE, sitting as member of their Gypsy, Roma and Traveller stakeholder school and on expert panels on EAL, such as the Education Policy Institute.
He has spoken at a number of national and international conferences on the inspection of EAL, race equality, and Gypsy, Roma and Traveller pupils.