Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said she might “slap” rude Ofsted staff after hearing about the school’s inspection experience.

The cabinet minister told education leaders she was “shocked” by the regulator’s treatment of an “outstanding” school she recently visited.

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She said: “I was shocked when they told me what their Ofsted experience was. I was really shocked.

“I thought: ‘Oh my gosh, if I met these people, I’d probably hit them’. They were really rude.”

Ms Keegan added: “I mean when you’re a politician you expect people to be rude to you and you go along with that.

“But when you’re trying to run a school and educate kids and change lives, you don’t expect someone to come in and be disrespectful.”

The comments were criticized by UNISON education director Mike Short.

The senior union figure said: “Clearly there is much that can and should be improved in the way Ofsted inspects.”

“But to suggest that hitting someone is an appropriate response is not what a government minister wants.

“It is deeply disgraceful to trivialize violence in schools when staff are increasingly likely to face assault at work. Ofsted inspectors already face a great deal of hostility while doing their jobs. It’s all about showing respect.”

This isn’t the first time Keegan has been criticized for his language choices.

Last year she was forced to apologize after she was caught complaining about not being thanked for doing a “damn good job” on the matter Unsafe concrete crisis in schools.

She faced further criticism for saying school principals who failed to respond to inquiries into unsafe buildings should “fuck off”.

Ms Keegan’s latest gaffe comes as Ofsted launches a “listening” public consultation on its future direction.

The regulator has come under increased scrutiny over the past year Principal Ruth Perry took her own life.

The mother-of-two died after an Ofsted report downgraded her primary school, Caversham, Reading, from its highest rating to the lowest rating due to safety concerns.

In December, the coroner concluded that an examination in November 2022 “likely contributed” to her death.

Speaking during a Q&A at the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) annual conference in Liverpool, Ms Keegan said inspection culture was the “biggest thing” that needed to change.

Sir Martin Oliver, Ofsted’s new chief inspector, told the media: “I think people should behave with professionalism, courtesy, empathy and mutual respect.”

He said he believed the incident Ms Keegan was referring to likely occurred in “a previous period”.

“I’m more interested in starting over and easing tensions. It’s better for the kids and the pros in this country.”

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A report by the Education Select Committee in January called on the Department for Education (DfE) and Ofsted to “develop an alternative” to the one-word judgments used to rate schools.

Meanwhile, Professor Julia Waters, Mrs Perry’s sister, said Ofsted needed to make “significant changes” or its consultation would be a “huge waste of time”.

Sir Martin said “anything is possible” and he was “determined to do whatever it takes to prevent such a tragedy from happening again”.

Speaking about the aftermath of Mrs Perry’s death, Ms Keegan said: “It struck me that actually the biggest thing we need to change is the culture. I was talking about culture and checking the culture and respecting each other.”

She added: “Because if you have that culture of respect, then you will naturally listen.”