Ampleforth College FAQs for Parents & Ampleforth Society 4 December 2020 We have collated answers to some of the questions you are most frequently asking. These explain what has been happening over the last week and the lead up to these events. It may not be a frequently asked question, but surely the most important, is what about those who suffered at the hands of those who purportedly cared for children at this College? It’s with them in mind, and for the sake of future generations of Ampleforth College students, that we have made the fundamental changes that we have in the past 18 months, and why we seek to make further changes as a result of positive and close working relationship with our regulators. 1. What did the Department for Education (DfE) announce on 27 November? On 27 November, the DfE emailed us and published on their website a letter from the Secretary of State (SoS) announcing enforcement action. The action requires us not to admit any new students to the school after 29 December 2020; or until the end of an appeal process if an appeal is made within 28 days; or if we apply to have the restriction revoked and the SoS is satisfied it would be appropriate to do so. 2. What were the grounds for this enforcement action? The SoS acted on 2 conditions. The first is a failed Ofsted inspection in September 2020. We appealed the inspection report. Therefore, it is not yet public and has to remain confidential until published by Ofsted, under Ofsted's procedures. The second condition is the fact we had an action plan rejected by DfE in the last 3 years - the enforcement notice refers to the rejected action plan of 2018. The enforcement notice does not mention our 2019 action plan which was successfully signed off by the Department of Education and the Charity Commission. The hard work put in to implement the 2019 action plan was reflected in our 2 successful ISI inspections in 2020. 3. Did you know this was going to happen? No. We have been waiting for the results of our complaint about Ofsted’s inspection report. The SoS's pre-emptive action on Friday came as a complete surprise. We do not understand why this action was taken or why it was taken before the complaint against the Ofsted report was determined. 4. What is Ampleforth College doing about it? We have a clear and agreed strategy. We are confident that the right route is to engage proactively with DfE so we can understand their concerns and vice versa. We propose to submit an action plan to address any concerns. We are confident we can achieve resolution. We are working with excellent lawyers should a Plan B, legal action, be a route we feel we have to pursue. We are making the necessary preparations so that we can take legal action quickly if needed. However, we believe that a more sustainable resolution will be achieved by working with the DfE. 1
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