Our School

Gamesley Community Primary School, in one of the most deprived areas of the country with many children receiving additional support for health, social and academic reasons, is a success story.  The staff are a hard-working and committed team who want the very best for the children they serve and work tirelessly to provide a safe, enriching and stimulating environment where children flourish. We have the confidence of parents and partner agencies, and the school is held in very high regard in the local and wider community.

The Ofsted Bullet

Our school was inspected by OFSTED on 13th and 14th March this year.  We have complained that the inspection was conducted in an unprofessional manner with an outcome which:

• Graded the school inadequate and requiring “special measures”
• Does not in any way describe the school that our staff, children, governors, partner agencies and the wider community recognise.
• Ignored all positive aspects of the school and skewed/ignored the evidence and facts to make our school fit into a pre-determined prejudice.
• Provided findings which we believe were prejudiced, inconsistent and unreasonable.
• Triggered the conversion process to Sponsored Academy; an Academy Order was made before our report was published.

Why does it matter?

We now find ourselves in a position where we are shackled by an unjust “special measures” label and being forced down a politically-motivated academisation route with no evidence this will bring about improvement in our school. 

We are seeking a reconsideration or reinspection through Ofsted’s internal complaints procedures but at the moment there is no means to overturn this decision.  Ofsted effectively say that their findings cannot be challenged because its processes are so effective its decision is unimpeachable.  This has been effectively challenged but the complaint procedure has not been changed. We are therefore preparing to have the Ofsted decision judicially reviewed which, if successful, should lead to the report being overturned. 

Join the Fight Against Ofsted

How can any school in our country have no means to challenge an Ofsted decision when it has such far reaching implications for the running of our schools?

Most schools do not have the resources (financial, energy, time or support) to dedicate to challenging such decision but we cannot stand by and let Ofsted walk over our school and other schools like Gamesley.  We have the time, energy and support but we need your help with the financial!   This is not a cheap option and we are crowdfunding to fund this process on behalf of Gamesley and every other school where this could happen.  Join us!