Barry Sheerman, chair of the Commons' children's select committee, said an Ofsted official had come forward claiming the changes were made because inspectors were under pressure not to give the council a clean bill of health, The Guardian reported on Saturday.
But in a statement the watchdog said: "Ofsted completely refutes the allegation that it manipulated any results. No pressure was put on these inspectors to downgrade the Annual Performance Assessment (APA) rating... The safeguarding issues raised were so significant that the overall APA rating had to be graded inadequate overall."
Lawyers representing Sharon Shoesmith, who was sacked as head of children's services at Haringey Council following the death of Baby P, today demanded to see drafts of the inspectors report. Shoesmith is currently seeking a judicial review of the decision, and damages, at the High Court.
Register Now to Continue Reading
Thank you for visiting Children & Young People Now and making use of our archive of more than 60,000 expert features, topics hubs, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:
What's Included
-
Free access to 4 subscriber-only articles per month
-
Email newsletter providing advice and guidance across the sector
Already have an account? Sign in here
