appealing against ofsted
We
have had a question from a teacher who tells us that the school that she works
at has recently been inspected by Ofsted. The report concluded that the school
should be put on Special Measures. The school contested the outcome of the report
and also complained about the professionalism of the inspectors. Their complaints
were not upheld and they want to know what further right to review they have.
Ofsted have outlined details of how to make a
complaint that can be found on their website www.ofsted.gov.uk
They have published a leaflet entitled Making
Complaints to Ofsted about inspectors and their
inspections and reports made under S10 School
Inspections Act 1996.
Informal Approach
Initially, if you have a query about the Ofsted
inspection, contact the Ofsted helpline. The contact
numbers can be found on the Ofsted website www.ofsted.gov.uk
Formal Complaint
If you do not receive a satisfactory
response from the helpline and you wish to make a formal complaint, your complaint
should be submitted in writing to the Corporate Services Group (CSG)*. Once
the complaint is passed onto the relevant Head of Division your complaint will
be considered. The Head of Division will pass the findings to the CSG. The CSG
will review the complaint. Jurisdiction
There
are limits to the extent to which Ofsted can adjudicate on complaints. They will
not attempt to comment on judgements made during the week of the inspection. They
are able to check whether there is consistency between the evidence presented
in the report and the conclusions drawn. They can look for evidence that inspectors
have not followed the inspection Framework. Outome
The Head of Division will inform you of the outcome in writing. If the complaint
is fully or partially upheld, the response will include an apology, an explanation,
and if necessary, an indication of what steps have or will be taken to put matters
right. Where the allegations are not upheld the response will say so and explain
why.
Ofsted has the power to void the inspection report. Ofsted
Complaint Adjudicator (OCA)
If you are not happy with the response from
the Head of Division then you should be informed of your right of recourse to
the Ofsted Complaints Adjudicator. The OCA is an external and independent body.
Where the OCA judges that a complainant has been treated unfairly
or has received a poor service, a recommendation will be made accordingly. Powers
of OCA
Recommend that Ofsted apologises; offers explanations; reconsiders
a complaint. Ofsted will normally accept the OCA recommendations.
The OCA cannot recommend a re-inspection. Nor can they recommend that inspectors'
professional judgements are altered or that an inspection report is amended. Parliamentary
Commissioner for Administration
If you consider that your complaint has
not been resolved satisfactorily by the OCA then the Parliamentary Ombudsman may
be able to consider your case. What does the Parliamentary
Ombudsman do?
The parliamentary ombudsman deals with complaints from members
of the public who have suffered injustice because of maladministration by government
departments or certain other public bodies. The Ombudsman
is independent of government and is not a civil servant. He is an officer of the
House of Commons, appointed by the Queen. He reports to Parliament. Complaints
to him are confidential and his investigations are private. There is no fee for
this service. How to Complain to the Parliamentary Ombudsman
In order to complain to the Ombudsman he expects you to have fully exhausted the
internal complaints procedure. In your case that would mean the full Ofsted complaints
procedure. Your Member of Parliament
The first stage is to approach your local MP.
In order to find out whom the local MP is log
onto the House of Commons Website. www.parliament.uk
Your MP may be able to advocate on your behalf before it is referred to the
Ombudsman. Application Form
Complaints should be made on the specified form.
Click here to go directly to the form. www.parliament.ombudsman.org.uk
The ombudsman will require supporting evidence with the form.
Remedies
Once the Ombudsman has investigated the complaint he will
make his recommendations. If he finds that your complaint is justified, he can
recommend that Ofsted should provide an appropriate remedy. The
Ombudsman has no power to enforce his recommendations: but the government almost
always accepts them. Sometimes investigations reveal faults in procedures or systems;
and the Ombudsman's report can lead a department or body to revise their procedures
so others do not suffer the same difficulties. What
if you still are not satisfied?
If you are not satisfied with the recommendations
by the Parliamentary Ombudsman then you may have
the right to take your complaint to the Education
Select Committee. For further information log
onto the House of Commons Websiste www.parliament.uk/commons
A further option that may be open to you is Judicial Review.
In order to obtain advice on whether your school has a claim for judicial review
contact a solicitor who specialises in Administrative/Education Law. For a list
of solicitors in your area log onto the Law Society Directory
www.lawsociety.org.uk.
Contact your trade union. The National Union
of Teachers website has some interesting information
about Ofsted inspections www.teachers.org.uk.
Contacts :
OFSTED
Alexandra House
33 Kingsway
London
WC2B 6SE
tel: 020 7421 6698/6538
www.ofsted.gov.uk
Why not get in touch? If you've got a problem or a query,
email us on philip@schoolzone.co.uk
and we'll do our best to help | 
