Comments

"Pupils were generally happy and comfortable in the boarding houses. They said they felt safe at Merchiston and confirmed that they had trusted adults in whom they could confide if they felt concerned or worried about something. Individual pupils told us that they were able to express their views to staff in the boarding houses and that they had a range of contacts with staff across the whole school."

"Pupils were generally happy and comfortable", "Individual pupils told us", and "As part of the inspection we contacted a sample of parents" should be noted as very unspecific, unquantifiable phrases.

That "all parents were happy about outcomes for their children" from the "sample of parents", the choice of whom no methodology is offered should be recognized to be evasive language.

One parent is quoted as saying "I have found them (school staff) much more open (since the last inspection), they recognised that they needed to change......they have embraced the changes they have had to make."

The previous self-inspection took place on 4 December 2015. This report mentions openness twice. The first instance is horrifying, showing that pupils had been "prepared":

"We also heard from some young people that they had been 'prepared' for some questions from inspectors. One young person we spoke with was unhappy about this and was clear that he wanted to give his own opinion. The service should ensure that young people are enabled to share their views openly without influence."

The only other reference in the prior report to openness was reporting a staff—not parent—perception:

"A new management and leadership structure had been developed which was experienced by staff as being more accessible and consultative. A new appointment to the Deputy Head - Pupil Support was also seen as a similarly positive development and staff felt that there was a greater sense of openness from the senior team."

There are also no comments in the previous report from parents complaining about school staff not being open or not recognising that they needed to change. All reported parents' comments are positive. It is therefore unclear what this comment from a single parent is referring to:

"I have found them (school staff) much more open (since the last inspection), they recognised that they needed to change......they have embraced the changes they have had to make."

Read these inspection reports yourself. As always these reports read like brochure-speak with mostly positive commentary. They are a collection of opaque investigations that conclude that everything is mostly positive.

Oddly, this report states: "We had not requested an updated self assessment for this inspection. The school regularly reviews the content of its self assessment to ensure that it is up to date."

This could imply that nothing has changed, from the school's own point of view, as presumably there is some version tracking of self assessments.

Nigel Parry, Research Hub Editor