School set to take Ofsted to court over inspection

A schoolhouse says it volition situation Ofsted successful tribunal for not pursuing close procedures, aft an inspection near its caput teacher feeling suicidal.

Sarah Jarman, whose acquisition spans 20 years, said she felt "crippled and crushed" by the inspection.

Queen Emma Primary School successful Cambridge was downgraded to inadequate implicit its measures to support children safe, and has appealed against the decision.

Ofsted told BBC News: "We wholly refute these allegations."

It added: "We firmly basal by our inspection and published study (into Queen Emma's)."

In an interaction connection written arsenic portion of the school's ceremonial ailment to Ofsted, Ms Jarman said she usually considers herself to beryllium a "strong, resilient and self-aware leader".

"Yet the acquisition of that time has shattered each portion of self-belief I have, some successful myself and the Ofsted system. Without doubt, the antagonistic connotations volition enactment with maine for the remainder of my life," she told BBC News.

Ms Jarman said her erstwhile experiences of England's schools regulator had been positive, but the inspection successful October 2022 had felt "like a wrecking shot had travel done our school".

She said successful the months pursuing the inspection she recovered it hard to permission her house, could not sleep, and felt an "overwhelming" consciousness of loneliness due to the fact that she could not sermon the result with anybody extracurricular the school.

She said: "If idiosyncratic comes into your school, and without instauration says determination are wide safeguarding issues successful your school, each the hard enactment you person strived for pales into insignificance.

"You statesman to uncertainty each azygous happening you person ever done and you statesman to question whether oregon not successful information you tin bash the job."

The Ofsted study said: "While safeguarding systems and procedures are successful place, swift enactment is not routinely taken to support pupils safe."

It added that record-keeping related to kid extortion concerns were "not robust".

The schoolhouse was unsuccessful successful challenging Ofsted's people earlier the study was published.

In its ailment to Ofsted, the schoolhouse claims inspectors handled a interest raised straight with them astir the payment of a kid inappropriately, by investigating it alternatively than leaving that to societal services.

The schoolhouse said confidential accusation astir children was taken distant by an inspector, resulting successful a breach of information security.

In a missive seen by the BBC, Ofsted apologised to the schoolhouse for the accusation being "inadvertently removed", but said it was kept securely.

Cambridgeshire County Council confirmed to the BBC that a interest raised during the Ofsted inspection was investigated thoroughly and nary further enactment was taken.

The schoolhouse has besides lodged a petition for a justice to reappraisal the grade, pending the result of the entreaty to Ofsted.

If Ofsted rejects the appeal, the adjacent measurement is waiting to perceive if support has been granted for a justice to look astatine whether Ofsted followed the close procedures.

The exertion is chiefly astir the inspection, but it besides seeks to situation the rule of the azygous connection judgment, wherever enactment and the full schoolhouse tin beryllium judged inadequate if concerns are raised astir managing kid welfare.

If a reappraisal is granted it could person overmuch wider implications.

A nationalist statement astir Ofsted inspections has been sparked successful caller weeks, aft Reading caput teacher Ruth Perry took her ain life. Her household believes the anxiousness and accent pursuing the inspection led to this happening.

Prof Julia Waters, Ms Perry's sister, is owed to code different superior caput teachers astatine their national league connected Saturday.

Schools bash not get to spot the accusation connected which inspectors basal their judgements, making it hard to situation the findings.

Queen Emma's seat of governors, Sean Lang, said: "Effectively, Ofsted marks its ain homework.

"How tin you situation a judgement erstwhile you don't cognize what it's based on?"

It said: "We volition ne'er springiness up connected this schoolhouse and connected our children."

Ofsted said: "Ensuring that children are harmless successful schoolhouse is 1 of the astir important elements of our inspections.

"We lone springiness an inadequate judgement to a schoolhouse for safeguarding reasons if we person superior origin for concern."

Photos by Branwen Jeffreys