Ofsted has refused to say why it carried out an “emergency inspection” of an academy at the centre of controversy over its discipline policy.

Great Yarmouth Charter Academy in Norfolk made international headlines after it last week wrote to parents banning a haircut known as Meet Me at McDonald’s.

It had previously been in the news in September, after some parents criticised the strict behaviour policy introduced by new principal Barry Smith after it became an academy sponsored by the Inspiration Trust.

At the weekend, the Sunday Times reported that Ofsted inspected the school last week “after parents complained”, and that the inspectors would back the headteacher.

The inspectorate confirmed to Tes that “we carried out an emergency inspection”, but added: “We wouldn’t be able to provide you with the reasons why but this will be reported in the inspection report - which is published in the usual time frame.”

The Inspiration Trust said it had not been told the outcome of the inspection yet, and it did not know what prompted it.

The inspection in the same week that Ofsted published its report on a non routine inspection of an east London primary school that was at the centre of a row after the headteacher banned younger pupils from wearing the hijab in class.

The report said that the inspection was carried out because chief inspector Amanda Spielman, who had publicly backed the head, “was concerned about the effectiveness of leadership and management at the school”.

The report said: “This concern arose from press reports and social media activity which suggested a potential breakdown in trust between school leaders and parents following a report in the national press about the school’s policies on uniform and fasting.”

The report said the school continued to be “outstanding”, and that its leadership and management are “effective”.