Do all head teachers tell parents what to write on Ofsted forms?

[tatt]

Our head has been telling parents to write letters of support to Ofsted. I'm quite annoyed that he should try to tell parents what to say. He's claiming that the school will lose money if there are any negative comments.

Personally I have less faith in Ofsted inspectors - I don't believe a few negative comments matter unless they happen to support something Ofsted have picked up more generally.

Generally this is a good school - but no school is perfect.

That's abit off, Ofsted is there to improve schools, isn't it?

What a cheek! He can't do that! Our head asked us to write letter to Ofsted when we had our inspection, but they were sent in sealed envelopes, and addressed directly to the Ofsted officers. Although, I suppose there's no reason why the school couldn't intersept them!

Tell Ofstead

Presumably he is looking for positive comments for a forthcoming Ofsted inspection?

School funds are not directly related to Ofsted grades - tho if parents start moving their children to other schools once a school they were prefectly happy with before receives a disappointing Ofsted grade, then yes of course funding reduces.

Write what you think - they do set great store by parent comments IME (have just been through one) good and bad!

Make sure you mention how 'helpful' the head has been in advising parents how to write their comments when you do your letter to Ofsted...

You will get a letter from the inspector with a form to fill in to be returned to the inspector. You could always write a letter to go with it - whether you tell them what the Head said about it is up to you but I would think that Head is on extremely dodgy ground if that ever got out

Ofsted gave us a form to fill in and the school never even saw it - we had to send it back in a sealed envelope.

The head should have nothing to do with. It will probably back fire anyway as a lot of parents won't like being told what to write and will be more honest than perhaps they would have been!

I have no doubt the head would claim it was "misunderstood" - although it's not the first time he's done something like this.

Yes we were told to send them back in a sealed envelope - easy enough to open and put in another envelope if you want to, or even lose a few.

Crikey! Did he tell you in writing? If so, I'd pop a copy of that letter in with the questionnaire/letter response for Ofsted.

No - too crafty for that. However it's in writing from someone else that the school made the request.

Ha! this sounds familiar. My dd's school had an Offsted inspection last year and according to eyewitnesses (my dd among them), the preparatory assembly went like this:

Head: We had better practise what we're going to say when the Offsted inspector come. X, do you enjoy music lessons?

Boy: No.

Head: That was the wrong answer! I am disappointed in you!

Unfortunately, my dd was away on a school trip the day of the inspection; otherwise, I'd have instructed her to tell the inspector: 'I'm so sorry, I've forgotten what Mr Y said we had to say....'

I may report that the school passed its inspection with flying colours and got an Outstanding in music. The pathetic thing is that it was probably well deserved: they have put a lot of work in. And then he had to go and ruin it all with the moral damage done to hundreds of little souls....

I have never heard of that before, all comments that I have made are in a sealed envelope and the school has nothing to do with it, other than hand out the forms.

we have had questionnaires which go back into a 'ballot box' type thing in the school entrance,only there during the inspection, and ofsted inspectors collected them from there. certainly no mention to the children or parents about what they "should" (or indeed shouldn't) write on them.
A head who is trying to influence comment in any way should be reported to the inspection team and the school governors.