The manner of Ofsted inspections needs to radically change according to an Oldham headteacher after multiple complaints were made about the inspections in the borough in recent years.

A Freedom of Information request submitted by news agency Radar found that between March 2021 and March 2023, nine complaints were recorded about Ofsted inspections from providers in Oldham.

Of the 1,199 complaints about Ofsted across the country last year, five were submitted by Oldham providers, two of which concerned the behaviour of inspectors.

Only 18 complaints across the country from last year were fully upheld, however, Ofsted was found to be partially wrong in 263 cases, two of which were in Oldham.

These numbers have been released at a time when Ofsted's inspection process has come under greater scrutiny in the past year, following the suicide of headteacher Ruth Perry.

In December last year, a coroner ruled an inspection "likely contributed" to her death, after her school was downgraded from the highest to the lowest rating over safeguarding concerns.

Get the latest news delivered straight to your inbox by signing up to The Oldham Times' morning and evening newsletters as well as our breaking news alerts 

In reaction to the Oldham statistics, headteacher of Newman RC College, Glyn Potts, said radical change needed to happen in regards to the manner in which Ofsted inspections are carried out.

Mr Potts said: "Since the tragic case of Ruth Perry, the concerns of those in education as to the credibility and conduct of Ofsted inspections has been brought to the public eye.

"Whilst there is a need for accountability and inspection of schools, the manner of those inspections needs radical change.

"The FOI has shown that nine complaints have been received within Oldham, but many more concerns will exist with schools feeling that complaining or raising an issue will only lead to further inspection and risk.

"If we are truly committed to securing the best for all children, particularly those in Oldham, then we need to understand the challenges faced by schools and provide the tools to address this."

Mr Potts' thoughts were echoed by Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT union for school leaders, who said: "More broadly, fundamental reform of the way Ofsted operates is urgently needed to improve the reliability and usefulness of inspections, while reducing the unacceptable toll on the wellbeing and mental health of leaders and teachers."

The Association of School and College Leaders went as far as to say the large number of complaints across the country last year "strongly suggests Ofsted has lost the trust of the profession".

An Ofsted spokesperson said: "We want to make sure that our work is always carried out with professionalism, courtesy, empathy and respect. In the vast majority of cases it is – but we take all complaints very seriously.

"We understand that some have found our complaints process difficult to navigate, so we recently introduced a new, more transparent process, including the option for leaders to call a senior person at Ofsted if they have any concerns during their inspection. We consulted on these measures and they were strongly supported by the sectors we inspect."

Last month, the House of Commons Education Committee recommended Ofsted conduct an in-depth review of its complaints process, after hearing evidence the inspectorate was "marking its own homework".

The committee also heard evidence from school staff that the workload required to prepare for inspections can feel "crushing" and "relentless".

Ofsted said it will respond to the Education Committee's findings in the coming weeks.