Special report: Ofsted complaints - Take a stand

Ofsted's handling of complaints about childcare providers and inspections has come under attack from early years practitioners who say the organisation is too big to operate efficiently.

'It is a mammoth organisation and is trying to do too many jobs,' says the proprietor of a west London nursery who was exonerated over complaints about her setting.

She and her staff feel they have been unfairly treated: there was a delay of more than five months between the initial visit from Ofsted and social services when the allegations were made and the full investigation being undertaken; there was a further two months' delay in Ofsted's response to her e-mail complaining that although they had been cleared, the complaint would remain on the setting's record.

In her latest e-mail from Ofsted she has been told the complaint was not anonymous, although investigators from Ofsted and the social services had assured her it was.

The nursery owner says, 'This is surely not what we should expect from Ofsted or social services? If they can tell an untruth such as this, how are we expected to have complete trust in them on other issues?

'This is always going to be in our background. I feel desperately sorry for anyone who is unable to prove their innocence.'

She worries that gossip could damage her business. 'In a small community it only takes one person to discover this information before rumours start to circulate, which could destroy the reputation of a very good childcare setting.'

'Providers should be aware that due to a change in the way Ofsted works, complaints that are not upheld no longer appear on the report,' says Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of the National Day Nurseries Association. 'However, past complaints which were not upheld prior to this change will remain on a provider's record until their next inspection, which is a concern.'

An Ofsted spokesman says it 'retains details of every complaint received about a setting against its individual registration details.' Its policy team is considering 'as a general policy point' the nursery owner's concern that information may be given to parents about complaints which do not result in action.

Churn factor

Ofsted received 7,573 complaints about daycare settings and childminders in the 12 months to March 2007. In 70 per cent of cases investigated during this period the registered person had taken remedial action or there was no evidence to substantiate the concern, and no further action was necessary.

It does not record as statistical data how many providers complained about inspections. Laura Henry, managing director of Childcare Consultancy, who is a former Ofsted inspector, carries out post-inspection diagnostic reviews with settings. She says, 'It is not always because the provider wishes to complain about the inspection. It may be because they want to review the good practice lessons learned from the inspection and how to move forward.

'About 40 per cent of providers we visit are sometimes unhappy with the inspection and/or report. We find only 2 per cent go on to challenge Ofsted about it.

'Under the old system, a report would go to a provider in draft form and they had about 14 days to make any amendments. Now the report goes straight on Ofsted's website.'

Ofsted does not have statistics on how many re-inspections are conducted, but the spokesman says 'it is very few'. However, Ros Taylor, owner of First Steps Nursery in Salisbury, says she was inundated with requests when she wrote to Nursery World (26 July 2007) explaining how her nursery had been upgraded on re-inspection and offering to share copies of her successful appeal.

'There is a career to be made in helping with appeals. The overriding view from the calls is how subjective the inspections are,' she says.

'I have run this nursery for 16 years. Before that I taught all over the world, yet every day my learning curve is huge. I learn every day from our children and parents. I think some Ofsted inspectors are isolated individuals who are out of touch. They operate to a rigid framework and have a tick-box mentality.

'The inspection process is money-led. On our previous inspection two inspectors were with us for two full days. One looked in depth at the care side and the other at the education. Their work now is target-driven. They get so many points for the type of provider they are inspecting, so you have the impression the inspector wants to get on, churn out the report and move on to the next one.'

Copy and paste

Another practitioner says, 'I was told they are not supposed to copy and paste when writing up their reports, but if you compare reports on Ofsted's website it looks sometimes as if whole chunks are copied from one report to the next.' Another practitioner questions the calibre of inspectors. 'Previously the local authority inspectors were experienced. They knew the settings well. There are inspectors who demonstrate in-depth knowledge of the early years, but some don't.'

The inspection report on London childminders Dave and Annie Wickens was so inaccurate they were able to force Ofsted to withdraw it. On re-inspection they were up-graded from 'satisfactory' to 'good'.

'The report was littered with factual inaccuracies,' says Mr Wickens. 'The inspector got it wrong on which parts of the house we are registered for, and whether the children are part-time or full-time.

'We didn't argue with the judgment, although we thought it was ridiculous, we argued over the factual content. In a strange way we were lucky the report was so obviously inaccurate and misleading.

'Ofsted is a big institution to take on. We were quite worried. We were telephoning Ofsted almost daily, but it is hard to keep track. So many Ofsted staff work from home that you have the feeling they are not keeping in touch with one another.

'We told Ofsted we wanted the report withdrawn and if it went on their website we would sue. It contained malicious innuendos, for example, "parents have access to a limited amount of policies and procedures". We felt this implied that we hid information from the parents.

'Our advice is to take Ofsted to task thoroughly, prove its points wrong and ask it to withdraw them.'

The owner of a small nursery chain, who is appealing to Ofsted over an inspection this summer, says, 'I have always had positive inspections before. Unfortunately it depends upon the inspector you get.

'When the inspector came to one of my settings, they were rude and intimidating to staff, ignored the children and offended a parent. Their behaviour slanted the inspection and the evidence was flawed.

'The local authority uses this nursery as a benchmark. I have given training on Ofsted inspections, and then this happens. It knocks the confidence of staff who give their all and are then told they are only "satisfactory".

'Ofsted is trying to inspect every setting before the Early Years Foundation Stage is introduced. Inspectors are under pressure, but that is no excuse for this behaviour. I wonder if Ofsted has not upheld my complaint because it has neither the time nor manpower to re-inspect.'

Redoing it

Yorkshire childminders Tamsin and Andy Coughtrey-Smith managed to re-write the recommendation in their inspection report because it contained so many inaccuracies and contradictions.

'There was a separate report on each of us,' says Ms Coughtrey-Smith, 'but you would never have thought we both worked in the same house. The report said we had a fireguard, but we do not as we do not have a fire. It said the children bring in lunch boxes. They do not. I provide all the food.

'Previously, we had been graded "good". Over the intervening years, we had developed professionally. I had done both the NVQ level 3 and Certificate of Childminding Practice level 3. We had become quality-assured and Nursery Education Grant-accredited. We were disappointed to still get a "good".'

Olive Rack, owner of Tresco House, Kettering, whose nursery was put under special measures as a result of an inspection last winter, got her lawyer to put pressure on Ofsted and won a re-inspection at which the setting was judged 'satisfactory'.

Ms Rack says, 'I had a lot of other nursery owners ring me up because I have spoken out about what happened. Most of these people who have had these unfounded, bad Ofsted reports had previously stood up to inspectors who had asked them to make changes which the owners had challenged as not being part of the requirements of the National Standards. My advice is: stand up to them.'