Comments follow.

Comments

"The Care Commission Officers were able to meet and talk with a selection of pupils throughout the day both in their houses and over lunch. The sample spoken with represented all age groups attending the school and were chosen by the Care Commission Officers. They all spoke very positively about their experience at Merchiston, about staff and accommodation."

Whether staff were present during these interactions with pupils and the number of pupils interviewed is not specified. The phrase "selection of pupils" is unintentionally ironic as it was literally true.

A decade before this report was written, when I was at Merchiston, I remember very clearly that the only pupils that inspectors spoke with, usually over a relaxed lunch or in a room with school staff present, were pupils who had been selected by the headmaster.

Remembering how we all spoke about those who were chosen for meetings with the inspectors, a common eye roll was about how the pupil selected were always the golden boys of the school—an entirely different and privileged class within the pupil class structure—the boys least likely to express any discontent and most likely to talk positively about their experience at school.

"All incidents in relation to behaviour and bullying were logged appropriately and parents were informed. Pupils were clear of who to contact in relation to incidents. The Childline phone number and information on the service was clearly displayed in the boarding houses."

Note what's missing here. What was being done to stop bullying? Why is logging bullying incidents seen as in any way effective if there is bullying to log still taking place? Why is the extreme case solution of ringing Childline and inaction inherent in merely 'logging bulling incidents' the only inspection references to this obviously ongoing phenomenon? 'We are recording incidents of bullying. PS: The Childline number is posted' are the words of an institution performing the bare minimum of child protection.

"Requirements: No requirements were made at this inspection. Recommendations: No recommendations were made at this inspection."

Nigel Parry, Research Hub Editor