A Birmingham headteacher has expressed disbelief after being told her school cannot pursue a complaint against Ofsted - because it's in the state sector.

Jane Hattatt, of Lordswood Girls' School's, claims to have hit a "Kafkaesque" bureaucratic wall in her two-year battle against the inspection regime.

She first contacted the organisation after becoming suspicious about a report by inspectors which contained judgments on areas she knew had not been inspected.

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Later it emerged the lead inspector had copied part of the report from that of another school 100 miles away in Bradford, West Yorkshire.

After failing to resolve the issue with Ofsted, Ms Hattatt was referred to the Independent Complaints Adjudicator (ICA).

Still not satisfied with the outcome, she took her complaint to the final stage outlined under Ofsted's guidelines and contacted the Parliamentary Ombudsman.

"They said the ombudsman could not pursue our complaints against Ofsted," said Ms Hattatt.

"But they said if we were an independent school, we could do it. It is outrageous. One of my senior colleagues said this is a Kafkaesque situation. It is getting more Kafkaesque by the minute.

"They are the body that takes these issues of complaint from Ofsted but we can't use it because, like most schools, we are a state school."

Ms Hattatt added: "We have to now ask questions in the House of Commons because, clearly, there is no complaints procedure. I don't know what to do now - I am absolutely stunned."

Ofsted's system for complaining against the work of its inspectors is outlined in a document Complaints about School Inspections on its website.

It states: "If you are dissatisfied with the ICA's decision, the ombudsman may be able to consider your case".

Ms Hattatt said: "They are giving out false information to schools. It confirms my view at this moment in time that this body seems to be beyond any jurisdiction.

"They have plenty of things they can bring to bear against schools but when they are out of order there seems to be no procedure in place at all."

Ofsted accepted its inspection team had failed in its duty to give an accurate and fair portrayal of Lordswood during their visit in November 2003.

But it failed to amend the inspection report on the website, which is why Ms Hattatt contacted the ICA.

A report published during the summer by adjudicator Elizabeth Derrington backed up her concerns and recommended Ofsted "should take all possible steps to ensure that a full and accurate addendum is prepared without further delay".

A failure to reach agreement on amending the inspection report resulted in Ms Hattatt contacting the ombudsman.

Ofsted defended its complaint system. A spokeswoman said: " There is already an Independent Complaints Adjudicator for schools to complaint to.

"However, our complaints

procedure is open for anyone to complain about an inspection, not just schools. Some people may be able to also complain to the ombudsman. You need to speak to the ombudsman about who they would consider complaints from."

The Parliamentary Ombudsman said the matter had not yet been resolved.

But a spokesman said under the law it was unable to handle complaints by any organisation that was "constituted for the purpose of the public service or local government".

She added: "It is possible that a teacher could complain on their own behalf, but then they would have to demonstrate they suffered a personal injustice. It is very complicated."