Ofsted is set to consult on changing the way it deals with school complaints about inspection reports, it has been revealed.
The inspectorate told Tes that a consultation on proposed changes would be launched soon.
The plans were revealed in a report into Ofsted by the Policy Exchange think tank.
The report said that there has been longstanding criticism of Ofsted’s complaints process and that these concerns have become more critical under the new inspection framework because it provides “greater space for individual inspector judgement”.
Quick read: Six complaints about Ofsted inspections
Heads: School leaders union calls for independent panel to review Ofsted complaints
Exclusive: Ofsted looking to review complaints process
Analysis: ‘Better complaints procedure needed’
Policy Exchange added: “We welcome the fact that HMCI [Amanda Spielman] said last summer that Ofsted is ‘having a hard look at it at the moment to see how we make something that is better and that fits the current model better’.
“We have been informed by Ofsted that they will be publishing a consultation shortly on a revised approach and look forward to these proposals being published.”
An Ofsted spokesperson said: “There will be a consultation on changes to Ofsted’s complaints procedure, and that will be launched soon.”
They declined to comment further on the planned changes.
Tes revealed last year that Ofsted was taking a “hard look” at its complaints procedure because of concerns that it was outdated.
Speaking at the International Festival of Learning last year, Ms Spielman said that there were concerns that the appeals process dated from the era before Ofsted stopped contracting out inspections in 2015.
In May last year, the NAHT school leaders’ union passed a motion warning that Ofsted should not be allowed to police complaints about its own inspections, and calling for a new independent review panel to be created.
And in a recent report outlining its members’ experiences of the new inspection framework, the NAHT warned that many heads worried about the effect that a complaint might have on the inspection outcome at their school.
The report added: “The lack of an effective and independent complaints policy probably means that much inconsistency, poor conduct or poor practice [by inspectors] remains unaddressed.
“Due to the nature of high-stakes inspection, school leaders struggle to gauge whether to address conduct and consistency issues during an inspection, yet know that complaints made after final feedback are rarely effective.”
Ofsted’s complaints process came under scrutiny in 2017 when a High Court judge quashed Durand Academy’s “inadequate” judgement after finding that a key aspect of Ofsted’s complaints procedure was “not a rational or fair process”.
However, that decision was overturned in December 2018 when the Court of Appeal found that “looked at overall, Ofsted’s procedure for evaluation and reporting is a fair and reasonable one for schools”.
