Ofsted inspection in Oct, school withholding report

[SocialButterfly]

Our school had an inspection in October. We still haven't had the report. I called ofsted today and they said they didn't know why it wasn't on the website but the school would definitely have had it by now. He said if I ask the school by law they have to give me a copy.

I think it's going to be bad and I imagine the school are trying to put things in place to show what action they are taking before they issue it. However I think we should have been given it as soon as the school had it. I'm not on the best terms with the HT so am wondering, should I ask for a copy and risk making myself more unpopular or just be patient and wait. It's been nearly 2 months since the inspection.

I think I'd go back to OFSTED and ask when their copy is going to be uploaded. surely they don't have to wait for the school to circulate the report before doing that?

When our school went into special measures, it took approx 6 months before a final report was published. There was a lot of wrangling between the LA and Ofsted as to the language used.
The outcome was not disputed, but where Ofsted used the words "outstanding" and "good" throughout the report, it was probably seen as not suitable to publish as it may not have been fully understood.

Why don't you get it from the OFSTED website as it'll be on there by now? A quick google should link you to it.

It could be that they are withholding it until they can reassure parents about the steps they are taking to address the issues OR it could be that they are in the process of appealing against some of the judgements?

It's unlikely to be a conspiracy to keep parents in the dark for the hell of it.

HTH

The guy on the phone said he would ask the relevant dept to investigate why it hasn't been uploaded but in the meantime to ask the school.

auntevil that's what I'm worried about that's it's going on to special measures. How did you find it?

jumpingjetflash it's not on the website I've looked. I'm not saying its a conspiracy

OP post an Ofsted inspection there are set timeframes for the draft report to go to school for factual corrections/comment and it is then reviewed by Ofsted for content. The phrases used must match the 'mark' awarded.

The Report cannot be made public until signed off.

If it is not yet on the Ofsted website it may be that they are running behind - are there reports loaded for other schools in your area/county from the same time as your school inspection?

If you are anticipating a less than good outcome it may be that there are ongoing discussions about the report and it has not yet been finalised.

Ofsted inspections - once finalised - are public information and published on the Ofsted website. This is normally within 2-3 weeks of the inspection. Sounds like it's not finalised yet and unfortunately a delay like this is often because of an Inadequate rating (not always though) because the levels of checking, quality assurance etc take longer when they put a school into an inadequte category. Schools have rights of reply and can lodge appeals but once Ofsted has made its mind up the school cannot prevent it being published on the Ofsted website. Usually schools send out a copy to parents as soon as it's published on the website. There's nothing the HT will be able to tell you in advance of publication, they are under strict orders for confidentiality.

So it is possible that it hasn't been finalised yet? Thanks I guess I'll wait and see.

Special Measures was the best thing for the school.
The grading was due to poor management (as in, there weren't any!!) Much of the teaching and other aspects were good - outstanding.
The LA/governors bucked up their ideas, recruited well, flooded the school with resources (not just money, but experience and training opportunities) and it was out of special measures within 6 months.
As a parent I would have looked at the report and wondered how there could be good comments and still fail it, the words used didn't match the outcome. It took a long time to check that both sides were accepting of the choice of words

Thank you auntevil that's good to hear. We have no head at the moment which isn't helping!

you could try a freedom of information request for all document relating to the report - it takes 40 ish days - but it might be useful. You could also ask to inspect or have sight of the governors minutes, as these sometimes offer views on what has been questioned

Governors Minutes are public documents, but only after approval - usually at the following meeting. Given the timeframe it is unlikely that there will be anything available that covers the post inspection period. Also, as said above, the report cannot be disclosed until Ofsted has finalised it, so any discussion by Governors before that point in time is likely to be recorded as a confidential Minute and therefore will not be 'public'.

There's probably some wrangling between Ofsted, the school and LA. The report isn't official until it's actually on the Ofsted website, so it sort of makes sense that the school doesn't give parents a copy until then.

Lots and lots of schools are going into a category under the new Ofsted framework.

I can confirm that an OFSTED report is confidential and may NOT be disclosed to parents until OFSTED (Not the school, or LEA) agree that it is finalised. then you are required by law to send a notification to all parents, and provide a copy on request. (these days you just bung it on the web site mostly)

So first you are forbidden to tell anyone, then you are required to tell everyone...