Ofsted boss Amanda Spielman has admitted the watchdog’s complaints process is not “satisfying”, amid growing criticism of its handling of concerns from schools.
The chief inspector also told the annual conference of school leaders’ union ASCL that pupil voice may have been given too much “weighting” in inspection judgments, an issue the inspectorate is addressing through training.
Schools Week revealed earlier this year that Ofsted had privately told trust leaders its complaints policy was “not working”, with a review launched and officials told to make the process more human.
Trust bosses have said that some inspectors made “over-zealous” judgments based on some pupils’ derogatory language or behaviour issues during inspections.
