School spends £300,000 to quash critical Ofsted report

OFSTED’S inspection regime has been called into question after a school quashed its own critical report in the High Court.

Durand Academy spent £300,000 fighting the watchdog after inspectors branded it ‘inadequate’ over safeguarding fears.

Durand has previously been criticised over a dating website run from its premises and a leisure centre hosting private clients on its grounds.

Sir Greg Martin, the school’s former head, quit in 2015 following the furore, but still acts as chairman of governors.

Durand, a state-funded academy with two sites in south London and a boarding school in Midhurst, West Sussex, claimed Ofsted’s report was ‘strikingly at odds with reality’.

Yesterday, judges sided with the school – meaning parents will never be allowed to read the original report. Ofsted intends to appeal. In a statement, Sir Greg, who earned £390,000 in 2012/13, said: ‘This report would have destroyed this school when it should have been held up as a beacon for what other inner city schools should be.’

Alan Smithers, professor of education at the University of Buckingham, said: ‘I am surprised and disturbed at the judge’s ruling. Ofsted has a well-established complaints procedure culminating in an independent adjudicator.

‘It seems wrong that the inspectors’ judgments about this particular school cannot see the light of day because of extensive litigation.’