Debate: Data – the pitfalls

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By John Coe — General Secretary of the National Association for Primary Education

Three months after the death of Baby P, Ofsted praised Haringey’s services for children. Was this error caused by an over reliance on data?

In November 2007, Ofsted slipped up very badly in Haringey. A year earlier, the inspectors had reported many examples of the authority’s good leadership and management. In addition, three months after Baby P tragically died, another inspection found that: ‘The Council’s capacity to improve its services for children and young people is good and its management of these services is good.’ Ofsted could not have been more wrong.