School bosses in Grays have accused Ofsted of failing to carry out their duties after it was revealed that inspectors are expected to grade William Edwards school as ‘requires improvement’.

The Stifford-Clays school expected to secure a positive rating but believe they were unfairly penalised for the quality of leadership, which was rated as ‘requires improvement’.

The school claims this rating meant the overall judgement was also made ‘requires improvement’ despite inspectors rating the school as ‘good’ in behaviour, personal development and welfare, as well as for the quality of teaching, learning and assessment.

The inspection report is yet to be published and details cannot be verified until it has been on July 8. However, Thurrock Council has backed the school and the South West Essex Community Education Trust in lodging a complaint with Ofsted.

Headteacher Simon Bell said: “We are deeply unhappy with the overall judgement and a number of significant aspects of the inspection process. The judgement for outcomes and leadership were ‘requires improvement’. This was partly based on a small point of detail relating to the school’s alternative provision that was previously inspected in 2017 and judged to be a strength of the school.

“We do not feel that this overall judgement reflects an accurate picture of the school."

Steve Munday, Chief Executive of South West Essex Community Education Trust, said: “We are clear that this overall judgement does not reflect the quality of education provided at William Edwards.

Councillor James Halden, who oversees Education and Health, said: “The overall inspection judgement is not one we recognise and we fully support the position taken by the school and trust to try and secure re-inspection at the earliest opportunity possible.

“We are committed to working with schools and other partners to ensure children in Thurrock get the best possible education.”