Today the Observer publishes evidence, including a string of emails, that contradict the claims in Ofsted’s inquiry that Rachel de Souzas schools, while highly prepared at the time of inspections, had merely benefited from good guesswork. Emails sent by De Souza, chief executive of the Inspiration Trust, whom former education secretary Michael Gove once said he would like to clone “23,000 times”, provide, along with testimonies from sources close to the schools, compelling evidence of advance knowledge. ■ In one group email to staff, De Souza said of an Ofsted visit to Ormiston Victory Academy, in Norwich, about which she should have had just half a day’s notice: “Only three weeks or so till Ofsted due at Victory too! Let’s keep focused.” ■ On a Saturday three days before the same inspection in May 2013, De Souza wrote to staff: “The last update on the [school] website was 8th May. Can you get it going with lots of news. Inspectors will probably look Monday!! It’s the first thing they look at.” ■ An email sent by a senior figure at Ofsted to De Souza suggested she had discussions with the regulator about the timing of an inspection in one of her schools, apparently so that it would not clash with her work as a part-time inspector. ■ A principal at one of De Souza’s schools, sponsored by Tory donor Theodore Agnew’s Inspiration Trust, felt so confident of the likely date of an inspection, more than a week before he should have been informed, that he turned down an invitation to join the prime minister at a Downing Street reception partly because it clashed with Ofsted’s expected visit. Today’s investigation also reveals questionable spending by De Souza’s trust, including the purchase of a £420 Vera Wang teaset, among an outlay of nearly £14,000 for office furniture.
Posted on: Sun, 19 Oct 2014 07:27:28 +0000
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