Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she takes steps to monitor the effectiveness of Ofsted's response to concerns relating to schools raised by (a) parents and (b) students.

Ofsted is a separate non-ministerial department with responsibility for its own arrangements for responding to concerns relating to schools.

The views of parents and pupils form a vital part of the evidence base for inspections. As part of the preparation for an inspection, inspectors will consider previous complaints made about the school and will follow these up where appropriate.

When parents are notified of inspections, they are invited to share their views through Ofsted’s Parent View website and are also informed that they can contact inspectors. This website is available at: https://parentview.ofsted.gov.uk/. If parents raise serious issues, these will be considered as part of the inspection.

Inspectors will also gather the views of pupils through a questionnaire as well as in person, and will take these views into account.

Ofsted has powers to consider certain complaints from parents outside of an inspection, and the power to inspect a school at any time where it deems this appropriate.