Ofsted aims to put everything into boxes - school

All Saints Academy's chair of governors David Fraser and head teacher Liz Furber outside the Royal Courts of Justice

A lawyer representing a secondary school unhappy over an "inadequate" inspection rating has accused Ofsted of trying to "reduce everything into little boxes".

All Saints Academy in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, has taken legal action and wants a High Court judge to quash an Ofsted inspection report.

Barrister Paul Greatorex, who led the school's legal team, told Mr Justice Cavanagh that Ofsted had "lost their way".

Ofsted has defended the "inadequate" rating - and argued that the All Saints report was comprehensive and not deficient.

The judge finished overseeing a two-day High Court trial in London on Thursday and is expected to deliver a ruling in the near future.

He has heard how in November 2022, a two-day Ofsted inspection took place at the comprehensive school, which has 655 pupils.

Mr Greatorex said that at the end of the inspection the school was told that safeguarding was "effective", four of six key judgments were "good" and two required improvement.

Two months later the school was told that the inspection had been "deemed incomplete".

A new inspection team had collected "additional evidence" and head teacher Liz Furber was then told that safeguarding had been judged "ineffective" and the "overall effectiveness judgment" was "now inadequate".

'Misconceived'

The school, represented in the case by law firm Irwin Mitchell, said the Ofsted report did not give "sufficient reasons, explanation or evidence" to enable it to understand the findings.

Mr Greatorex asked the judge to quash the report.

Ofsted disputes the school's allegations and said the claim should be dismissed.

A lawyer representing Ofsted told the judge that the school's claim was "misconceived".

Mr Justice Cavanagh, who oversaw the hearing at the the Royal Courts of Justice, said the case was important.

He did not say when he would deliver a judgment and told lawyers he had a "lot of material" to consider.

The two-day hearing has been held at the Royal Courts of Justice

The school said Ofsted had been unfair.

"Ofsted have lost their way," Mr Greatorex told the hearing on Thursday.

"They try to reduce everything into little boxes."

He said all the school had been given was a two-page report, and he told the judge: "This report begs more questions than it answers."

'Problems'

Barrister Toby Fisher, who led Ofsted's legal team, told the judge the report on All Saints was "comprehensive", "intelligible" and "meaningful".

He said it had not been delivered in a "vacuum".

"This is not a school that does not understand the evidence that is being given," he said. "It just disagrees with the judgment."

Mr Fisher argued that the report on All Saints was "not deficient in any way".

He told the judge: "It sets out the problems and sets out the steps that need to be taken to improve."