By Gavin Mackintosh-
Education inspectorate, Ofsted, is to review its heavily faulty complaints procedure in Uk schools, following sustained criticism of its inept system to which it has been tone deaf for a while.
It follows huge pressure for change following the fallout from the death of headteacher Ruth Perry, who was demoralised after the education watchdog delivered a damning verdict on her school which she considered unfair and inadequate.
Perry was the head at Caversham Primary School in Reading and took her own life while waiting for a report that downgraded her school to “inadequate”.
Ofsted said that since April, it has been in “regular discussion” with union leaders, other sector representatives and the Department for Education (DfE) about “a package of measures to improve aspects of our work with schools”.
It revealed that from September, it will offer schools “greater clarity about the threshold for effective versus ineffective safeguarding” through its inspection handbook, as well as “regular blogs and webinars”.
Ofsted also announced the charity Education Support, funded by DfE, will now be “doubled in size to support an additional 500 heads by March 2024”.
It added: “In the longer term, the DfE commits to further expand its mental health and wellbeing offer beyond March 2024.”
Responding to the changes announced by Ofsted and the government, Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “While these individual measures are sensible and somewhat helpful, they go nowhere near far enough in addressing the profession’s concerns.
“It has taken far too long for the government and Ofsted to announce this relatively modest set of measures and school leaders remain immensely frustrated at the lack of urgency and ambition being shown. NAHT continues to call for more fundamental reform of the inspection process.
“While the government insists on consigning schools to simplistic single word judgements, the system will remain fundamentally flawed and put unnecessary pressure on school leaders.”
The NAHT had threatened legal action against Ofsted shortly after the suicide of Perry, and sent a pre-action protocol letter to the inspectorate, in which it stated that the regulator was undermining the Human Rights of school heads, after Ofsted’s boss, Amanda Spielman(pictured) had irresponsibly declined to put a pause to inspections
Gillian Keegan, Secretary of State for Education said: “Taken together, today’s announcements are a really important step. I have committed to continuing our work on improving the way we inspect our schools with Ofsted and the family of Ruth Perry following her tragic death.”
Criticisms
The education inspectorate has faced several criticisms before and after the death of the teacher
One of the biggest criticisms against Ofted’s inefficient complaint procedure came from Ampleforth College, after the school said the regulator had failed to address its complaint’s about inaccuracies in its report about child abuse in the school.
Ofsted’s report also said alcohol consumption and class A drugs was found on the school’s site following a party by a group of sixth formers in the early hours of the night – with one person being found unconscious in an orchard and another hospitalised, and that there had been sexual activity between unsupervised vulnerable people.
Headteacher Robin Dyer at the time dismissed Ofsted’s report as being based on a number of incorrect assumptions and factual inaccuracies regarding its safeguarding.
Dyer said repeated attempts it had made to correct the fact were ignored by Ofsted.
Ofsted eventually significantly improved its report of the highly rated school without admitting any error in its original report.
Alcohol consumption and class A drugs found on the school’s site following a party by a group of sixth formers in the early hours of the night – with one person being found unconscious in an orchard and another hospitalised..
New Plans
Now Ofsted has revealed new plans that would see it throw out its current system of internal reviews and allow leaders unhappy with how their complaints are handled able to go straight to an external adjudicator.
If approved, the changes will replace the current procedure that was put in place in 2020.
Ofsted said its inspectors already routinely check with leaders throughout an inspection if they have “queries or concerns”.
The watchdog has proposed formalising this by asking inspectors to check with headteachers at specific stages of the visit, “where appropriate”.
Ofsted said inspectors could then address any issues raised at the time, rather than after the inspection has taken place.
Under the new proposals, schools in the Uk will be given a “new opportunity” to call Ofsted on the day after their inspection to discuss “any unresolved issues”. It is understood this has been piloted in one region of England already.
The watchdog said this may include raising informal concerns about the process and its “likely outcome”, queries about what happens next or highlighting “information that they feel was not fully considered”.
Ofsted said these calls would be directed to senior inspectors “relevant to the type of inspection, but separate to the inspection in question”.
One of the problems with Ofsted’s complaint procedure has been the fact that complainants often report a lack of transparency and communication from Ofsted. They receive generic responses or no response at all, leading to frustration and a sense of being ignored. For example, a parent’s detailed complaint about a school’s handling of a bullying incident went unanswered, leaving them feeling unheard.
Ofsted’s complaint procedures have been criticized for inadequate investigations and a lack of accountability. Ofsted has long been criticised for failing to address complaints, making it unaccountable, this accountability eroding. In a case involving a whistleblowing complaint against a care home, Ofsted’s investigation was superficial, failing to address the core issues and resulting in a breakdown of trust.
Complainants often experience significant delays in receiving responses from Ofsted, causing uncertainty and distress. When responses are finally provided, they tend to be generic and lack detail. A group of teachers who reported serious misconduct faced a long wait for a response that offered little reassurance or investigation into their concerns.
Critics have long claimed that Ofsted’s complaint procedures often fail to deliver adequate remedial actions. Even when serious issues are identified, Ofsted has been slow to respond.
This raises questions about Ofsted’s commitment to genuinely improve standards. For example, when a school was found to have significant safeguarding failures, Ofsted’s remedial actions were limited to recommendations and monitoring, without tangible consequences for the school.
Ofted is now suggesting that concerns are raised informally shortly after inspection, and that where issues are not resolved informally, a formal complaint. The third is an internal review and the fourth is an external complaint to an official adjudicator.
Ofsted is proposing a new first step, with two routes. Heads can either highlight “minor points of clarity or factual accuracy”, which will be considered “promptly” before the report is then finalised.
The watchdog said it expected “the vast majority of providers to follow this route”.
However those that do will “not normally have a later opportunity to raise a formal complaint or challenge”, which is a change from the current approach, though Ofsted will consider each school’s circumstances.
Formal complaints will be investigated by a member of Ofsted staff “independent of the inspection”, involving a phone call to “explore their concerns fully and, where possible, resolve issues quickly”. Heads can highlight information they feel was “not fully considered”.
Ofsted said it would also revise complaint outcome letters to be “clearer for providers about the reasons for decisions made”.
Ofsted said it believed its proposals would help it achieve a “right first time” approach and “strengthen” complaints-handling arrangements.
As a result, the watchdog plans to scrap internal reviews of how it handles complaints, which currently form step three of its process.
Under the current scheme, schools have to go through this internal review before they can ask for an external, independent review.
Under the new scheme, schools concerned that their complaint did not correctly follow the right process would be able to go directly to the Independent Complaints Adjudication Service for Ofsted (ICASO).
This will “reduce the burden on providers raising concerns”, the watchdog said.
“Instead of the current escalated levels of review, Ofsted will consider any formal complaints once, and thoroughly.”
Periodic Reviews
Ofsted also plans to introduce periodic reviews of how it handles complaints.
This will be done by taking a sample of closed complaints, which would be submitted to a panel of external reviewers, which will include external representatives from the sectors Ofsted inspects.
They can “provide challenge and transparency on how we have handled complaints about our work”.
Ofsted said the “information you provide us with will inform our new post-inspection arrangements and how we handle complaints about our work”.
“We will publish on our website a report on the outcome of this consultation in due course.”