Dear Tony

I apologise for the delay in responding in full to your emails regarding the Haringey joint area review and Ofsted's position regarding false and misleading data.

You ask what sanctions are available to Ofsted in relation to the presentation of false or wilfully misleading data and what actions are taken if this emerges during the course of an inspection. It is important to clarify Ofsted's role as an inspectorate. As with any inspection, our job in carrying out the joint area review in Haringey was to report findings and make judgements and recommendations for action based on the evidence collected.

In any inspection, where data has been found to be inaccurate, this will be taken into account in the inspection judgements and, as in the case of Haringey Council, may have an impact on the judgements made about leadership and management. However, it is for others, such as the Department for Children, Schools and Families, to take action on those findings. You are probably aware that, on receipt of the Haringey Joint Area Review report the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families requested certain actions to be taken by Haringey Council and also asked Ofsted to carry out a further inspection of safeguarding arrangements by June 2009.

Ofsted also acts by law as a regulator for a range of services relating to early years and children's social care (such as child minders and children's homes) and in these contexts have the power to grant a license to operate or trade. Under these circumstances, where we find providers do not come up to the required standards we may refuse to register them, or take enforcement measures, including prosecution.

You also ask, “does Ofsted `believe' and not `inspect' all of the time?” As stated above, Ofsted's role is one of inspection and regulation. Both activities involve trained and experienced inspectors with knowledge of the sector concerned assessing a service against a published framework and criteria and making judgements based on a range of evidence sources.

I hope that this information meets your needs.

Yours sincerely

Iyabo Akanmu

Local Services Inspections

Ofsted

0207 421 5871