Ofsted survey and complaints

1. Open Parent View and choose “Take our survey”. Register with your own email address, activate your account and sign in.
2. Search for North Cestrian School, Altrincham, WA14 4AJ. Check the school is correct; its unique reference number (URN) is 143104.
3. Answer from your own experience. Include positive experiences as well as concerns. Use “Don’t know” where appropriate.
4. Answer the SEND question if it applies, then the follow-up about support. Read each question as it appears on the official site.
5. Check your answers and submit. A new submission for the same school replaces your earlier response for that academic year.

Each parent or carer can give their own view using their own account. Do not submit extra responses to increase the apparent number of families.

During an inspection, a comments box is available for a limited time. Check the official instructions for the deadline. Give concise, factual examples if you use it.

Survey results are published as summaries, and personal details are not shared with the school. Ofsted still holds account information. Read its privacy guidance; avoid unnecessary details that could identify a child in any comments.

The survey does not lodge a formal complaint, arrange support for your child or guarantee an inspection.

These are hypothetical examples, not allegations about North Cestrian and not automatic grounds for an inspection.

• Support systems: evidence suggests the process for sharing or reviewing SEND support is failing more widely. Explain which process, what the evidence shows and what remains uncertain.
• Safety and wellbeing: records suggest a broader problem in how leaders respond to bullying concerns. Explain the response and any evidence of a wider issue, without identifying other children unnecessarily.
• Access to learning: evidence suggests a school practice is preventing pupils with additional needs from taking part. Identify the practice and its effects.

Explain any wider implication of your own experience, but do not claim that other families are affected unless you have a sound basis. Online reviews alone do not establish a school-wide failure.

If you need your own child’s support changed, a particular sanction reviewed, records released or an EHCP decision appealed, use the relevant school, council, ICO or Tribunal route. Ofsted cannot resolve those individual outcomes for you.

If you believe the school mishandled its complaints process, DfE may be the appropriate route. Check its remit.

1. Complete the school’s complaints stages and keep the replies. If you could not complete them, explain why. Ofsted can waive this requirement for potentially serious wider concerns; it decides whether to do so.
2. Prepare the school’s name and address, your contact details, the concern and a short record of how school handled it.
3. Explain the wider issue with dated examples and references to relevant records. Separate facts, reported accounts and your interpretation.
4. Use the official GOV.UK “Complain about a state school to Ofsted” service. Save your submission and reference.

Open the official Ofsted complaint service ↗

The service says to expect a response within 30 working days. Ofsted may retain information for inspection or refer it elsewhere. A complaint does not guarantee an inspection or change a school decision.

Ofsted explains which complaints qualify ↗
Ofsted’s complaints guidance ↗

This is a private planning sheet, not a form that sends a complaint. Use only sections relevant to your evidence.

School: North Cestrian School
Address: Dunham Road, Altrincham, WA14 4AJ
URN: 143104

My main concern:
Why I believe this is a wider school issue:
What I know directly:
What others have reported, with source and permission where relevant:
What is still uncertain:

Key examples and evidence references:
1. Date / event / source:
2. Date / event / source:

School complaint stages completed, dates and replies:
If stages are incomplete, why:
School’s explanation and any action already taken:
What remains unresolved:

I am asking Ofsted to consider this information within its inspection role.
Separate action needed to resolve my own child’s situation:

Copy this planning template into your own document and complete it there. Send personal details and relevant records only through the official service, following its instructions.