Further memorandum submitted by Mrs Clare
Newman
As a parent Ofsted seems:
— very remote and uncontactable;
— has a very limited remit that does
not allow parent participation;
— is only interested in a school at
the time of the review; and
— even at review time they are not
interested in the views of parents.
Currently parents with a complaint have to:
— speak to the Headteacher;
— speak to the Governors; or
— speak to the Department for Children,
Schools and Families.
Ofsted are not able to listen to parents' problems,
advise or intervene, they can only tell you you have to go through
the correct procedure.
Ofsted's role should be expanded so that parents
can complain about specific issues, such as:
— high rate of bullying that is not
being dealt with by the school;
— the number of parents having to pay
for private tuition in core subjects as the school is slipping
backwards fast since the last inspection;
— problems with the head/governors,
which obviously under the current system are not possible to put
forward (the head of my son's school is new but has never been
a deputy and in a very short period (1 school year) the standards
in the school have dropped and people are only going there if
they cannot get in to their first and second choice); and
— the number of children leaving but
still living in the catchment area.
If we could complain about these things to them,
they could visit the schools prior to the next scheduled inspection
and halt the downward slide of many schools before they need to
be put officially into special measures or even closed. Someone
could go into the school on a short term basis and raise the standards,
show the heads how things should be done and give the children
a decent education rather than wasting two or three years of a
childs schooling.
I understand that it would increase the work
load of Ofsted, but if it improves the educational standards then
that should be the main concern.
April 2008
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