To tell Ofsted what I really think

[HelgasFlowers]

DD’s school are coming up for Ofsted and we’ve been given the contact information to give them our views. I’m very concerned re: their bullying policy as I know of a four year old who had to change schools after six weeks because of horrific racist bullying that has completely changed him. Months later and he still thinks he’s the wrong colour to be alive.

The school did none of the things they are supposed to do legally re: reporting it etc and did not give any punishment to the bully - they blamed the 4yo for upsetting her because he didn’t play with her?!

It’s completely changed my perspective of the school and I’ve not really been comfortable with DD remaining there except for the fact she’s thriving academically.

I’m not sure what the implications would be for the school if Ofsted were made aware of it but I also think they need to be held accountable for their complete mishandling of the situation. Aibu?

I don't think you can really mention how you think someone you know was deal with. You don't know the details, only what you've been told.

You can tell them your own experience.

You can inform the parent whose child was so badly affected that the school are due their inspection so he or she can have their say. Even then, if there was no report to Ofsted made at the time, there's not a lot they can do about it now.

Are you objective about the situation and do you know all the facts and actions that took place?
Are you happy with the education your child is receiving?
Are you concerned about safeguarding?

Of course you are concerned and upset about the treatment of the child and I should think Ofsted would want to know about safeguarding issues and whether the anti bullying policy is effective. What do others think, or are you a lone voice?

I know about it because it’s personal and yes, it has left me with significant safeguarding concerns regarding DD as she is in the same class as the bully. We’re not talking a few mean words - we’re talking horrendous violent language deliberately aimed at this one specific child.

I have already told the mother so I suppose realistically she can put it forward from her perspective. I just feel Ofsted should know.

There are a few other parents, including the Governers, who are appalled at the way the HT covered it up.

There are a few other parents, including the Governers, who are appalled at the way the HT covered it up.

Given that the GB are responsible for the Performance Management of the HT, they really are shooting themselves in the foot 1) because ultimately, the HT is their responsibility and 2) if they are discussing the poor conduct of the HT publicly, then the HT could have an employment tribunal case.

It sounds to me like the OFSTED is well overdue, and should expose poor leadership from the Governing Board.

Have you raised the issues with the school? In which case it is entirely reasonable for you to say so in your OfSted feedback and to talk about the response you had, and whether you were happy with it.

If you have not raised it through the proper channels it is a bit out of order to be addressing this via the OfSted route, because the school has no right of reply - they just get slagged off in a vacuum.

You must do your bit first I think. If you do not get a proper response that satisfies you, then you would have the right to say so.

If there is a group of parents (including parent governors) who feel this was not handled correctly then this should be coming up in a governors' meeting and be there in the minutes for all (including OfSted) to see. There will be a Safeguarding Governor who should be alerted to the problem. He/she will take it up with the head.

I am a school governor and have seen these situations, and the most important thing is that the proper processes have been followed - which is what the Safeguarding Governor should be checking.

Playground gossip and indignation (which may be entirely justified) do not get the problem dealt with.

There are several issues here. The Behaviour Policy should be monitored by the Governors. You can ask Ofsted to check that this is being done. It must be effective monitoring with evidence that it has been done.

The school must also record and report racist incidents to the GB. You can ask Ofsted if this incident was indeed reported and what the school did about it. Did their response comply with their policy? This is your strongest complaint. If a child was racially abused, this is serious.

Did the parents of the child complain? If so, you could query with Ofsted whether the Complaints Policy is effective and whether it resolved complaints about the Head in this case. If there was no formal complaint, this line of questioning may not be appropriate.

The Governors are totally wrong to talk about the way the Head manages the school to anyone outside of their meetings. This is unprofessional and should also be reported. Their job is to bring leadership and strategic management to the school and that includes managing the Head through performance management and dealing with complaints. What is discussed in meetings, stays in meetings and if any governor discussed the Head with parents, they should be reported to the Chair of Governors.

Please remember that it is not you or your child that has been directly affected so keep your comments strictly on policies and unprofessional conduct as you see it. I would be very concerned about the racist incident and make that and compliance with the bullying policy my point. You must be factually accurate and not report tittle tattle.

Ofsted do read parental input so they should look at the role of the school regarding these allegations. However if everything else is good, it may not be given huge weight unless they find anything very wrong. It will sow seeds of doubt so you should respond to Ofsted.

It was followed up by the Chair initially but when the child left the school I think it got ‘forgotten’ about.

I have raised the issue myself with DDs teacher and she was unaware that a child in her class had even been bullying a younger child and that that meant I had concerns for DD.

But, overall, thank you all for your input. I’ve not really ever been sure about these processes so the advice is invaluable.

It is not necessarily the Safeguarding governor who will deal with racial abuse and bullying. It’s the Head. It is a day to day function of the school following policies agreed by the Governors. The Governors are responsible for checking that the policies are effective by monitoring evidence. They don’t do Safeguarding or deal with racial abuse themselves.

The great difficulty is that the child has left the school so the views are not from that parent. However there is no reason why you cannot make your concerns known about the policies. I strongly suggest you read the relevant policies before you say anything to anyone and don’t forget you are not an advocate for the child who left. Concentrate on what this means for current children and the concerns you have about how the policies are followed.

I don't think it's your place, as a third party, to do anything.

"There are a few other parents, including the Governers, who are appalled at the way the HT covered it up."

Have the Governors been gossiping to you? How do you know anything was covered up or what has gone on?

No, not gossiping but the child involved is my SIL’s step son so I know because it’s family, which is the link to two other parents who know the situation. Governor is a family friend of SIL so I’ve been told what they’ve said via SIL. I hope that’s clear?! Just normal family discussion.

That’s why we have concerns for DD, and other children at the school who could face the same racist bullying from this child, or others.

I will reread the policies. I know the incident wasn’t reported by the school, which is one of my major concerns as I fear that this would be repeated.

Governor is a family friend of SIL so I’ve been told what they’ve said via SIL. I hope that’s clear?! Just normal family discussion.

Um, no. That's very poor form on the part of the Governing Board Member. Just because it's an unpaid role doesn't mean it's exempt from confidentiality - Governors have legal obligations as employers, trustees and board members.

The comments made by this parent Governor, which have been repeated by your SIL, and subsequently repeated to you, could result in the end someone's career. That's not "normal family discussion".

I agree, the Governor was completely wrong. The racist incident has to be reported to the Governing Board by the Head. They must say what it was, how it was dealt with and the outcomes of the actions. You can ask Ofsted to look at how racist abuse is dealt with at the school by referring to the policy. It is difficult to complain about something that hasn’t happened to your child. Keep your questions general and don’t name names.

The Governor needs better training! I guess that’s why the GB may not be doing their job properly!

In terms of your feedback to Ofsted, is it this bullying issue that is your concern or do you have wider concerns and the leadership of the school (I appreciate this issue alone has caused some concerns)? Is your child happy at school?

I’d ask SIL to speak to them so it’s from “the horses mouth.”

Actually unless it's minuted as an item to be regarded as confidential I don't think it necessarily is confidential. Unprofessional maybe.

Actually unless it's minuted as an item to be regarded as confidential I don't think it necessarily is confidential. Unprofessional maybe.

If the Board has concerns about the way the HT has handled a situation, that is a HR matter and will be dealt with through the capability process which will involve a small sub committee of Governors who are required to seek professional HR support.

Board members expressing their personal opinion of the HTs handling of a situation should never be discussed at a Meeting, let alone minuted.

Governors can and do monitor racist incidents. They will not be told the names of those involved. Therefore monitoring can be minuted, and must be, otherwise how do Ofsted know the Governors are doing anything about racist abuse? You keep the wording general but it certainly can be minuted. It is evidence of how policies work and are reviewed and monitored.

Whatever discussions there may have been at GB meetings, they are confidential. It may well have been that there was disquiet at the Head’s handling of the situation but this will not be minuted. It could be that the Governors decided to ask for more monitoring information regarding how the Racial Abuse Policy is working. Governors are perfectly entitled to hold the Head to account for operating the policy. It is unlikely to become a capability issue on such flimsy evidence and a single issue. The Head can be asked to explain any discrepancies between the policy requirement and what actually happened. The Governors can then hold the Head to account via performance review to ensure the policy is followed.

bubbls I absolutely agree that the GB has a duty to monitor racist incidents, which will be minuted.

My criticism of this particular board is in relation to the fact that the OP says that she knows that one of the Board is "appalled" at the way in which the HT has handled the incident, and she is aware of that Board members opinion because of conversations she (the OP) has had with her SIL who has a family connection to the child involved.

If it were me I would give my feedback on the link provided about this incident yes. If the school does not handle bullying effectively, there will be other children being horribly bullied so yours wont be the only feedback on it.

Thats the reason why they ask for feedback isn't it? So they get views of parents about the school in general, as opposed to just seeing stats and observing a couple days of lessons.

I hope this little child can overcome this and is happy in their new school.

Op, contact Ofsted using their contact information and tell them directly yourself.
I say this as an ex parent governor.
Your instincts are right. Flag it up.

Regardless of the ins and outs, do report it, Ofsted can then decide for themselves. That is the essence of any safeguarding issue... you don't take responsibility for working it all out, you float it on to the next person up the hierarchy and they deal with it as they see fit.

If Ofsted don't want to know or it falls outside their remit they will cope!