Supplementary memorandum submitted by
Roger Titcombe
Please add this important supplementary and
highly relevant evidence to my submission.
It concerns the fact that the same HMI (Andrew
Bennett) has been the lead HMI in the Ofsted inspections of all
the Vardy academies. I understand that Andrew Bennett's specialisation
is Religious Education. Why is this appropriate to this (non religious?)
academy foundation, and why should a particular HMI have a monopoly
on the Ofsted inspections of the academies run by a particular
sponsor (in this case Vardy)?
I have been attempting to investigate further
any relationship in an advisory capacity between Andrew Bennett
and the Vardy academies using FOI. Ofsted has stated that they
do not hold any such correspondence to which I replied by email
on 25 November as follows.
Thank you for your responses to my enquiries.
With regard to the attached letter please clarify
points 8 and 9 with regard to correspondence between Andrew Bennett
HMI and the Vardy academies.
You state that: `Ofsted does not hold any such
information'
Does this mean that there has been no such correspondence,
or that Ofsted does not have copies of such correspondence?
If the latter, please explain Ofsted policy for
storing records of correspondence between HMI and schools (other
than formal Section 5 and Section 8 inspection correspondence).
If records of such correspondence between Andrew
Bennett and the Vardy academies once existed but exist no longer,
please state when they were deleted referring if possible to the
appropriate Ofsted policy regarding the storage and deletion of
records.
Please regard this as a request for clarification
of my existing request (rather than a new request).
No reply has been received to date.
The issues are:
— why is a special team of HMI needed
for academies inspections;
— why is a single HMI responsible for
inspecting the (controversial) Vardy academies;
— given the allegations of promotion
of evangelical creationism with implications for Darwinism, and
the historical truth of biblical stories like Noah and the Flood,
surely a science or history specialist would be more appropriate;
— what are the implications for selection
of HMI for inspections of religious academies;
— should Muslim schools only be inspected
by specially chosen HMI; and
— why aren't HMIs selected to inspect
all schools on a random basis?
Note that under the old inspection regime, large
independent teams of contracted inspectors were used. These did
not usually include HMI. Does the move to an HMI dominated system
create dangers with respect to impartiality given the links between
Ofsted and HMI that are set out in the first part of my submission?
December 2007
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