You are in a very difficult position. As  headteacher of a failing school the finger is definitely pointing in your direction. The months ahead will involve you demonstrating that you have the energy and the vision to help your school out of special measures. Complaining about the inspection could be seen by some to demonstrate that you are in denial.  What your governors and LA will want to see is that rather than you making excuses for what happened that you are determined to rectify it and take your school forward. 

Having said that. Ofsted inspectors are not infallible. The recent Education Select Committee report pointed out that they often do not have recent, relevant experience and may themselves not fully understand the purposes of Ofsted. Inspectors can sometimes be drafted into a school and phase of education that they know little about. Some of the legislation and recommendations can be relatively new for them and they have certainly never had to implement it themselves. 

With this in mind it is important that schools challenge where necessary and take on a more active role in the inspection process. Did you question the inspection and inspectors whilst it was happening? If you did then this will help your case. Waiting until the inspection is over and the results are in can make it look as though you are searching for those excuses. If you made your concerns known during the inspection then that goes in your favour.  

On a practical note, the forms for making a complaint are on the Ofsted website. You have 30 calendar days from the publication of the report to make a formal complaint in writing. You will want to discuss this with members of your governing body and they must know how you feel and what your motives are for questionning the inspection. Having the support of key people will help you. If you can engage the LA on your side all the better. 

If you want to check out the practice of your inspectors a good document to access is ‘Conducting School Inspections’. Being familiar with the advice that inspectors are given can help clarify for you whether they were following procedures or not. Did you have opportunity to comment on the inspection trail? Were your views taken into consideration and listened to? Was protocol followed? Were there factual inaccuracies in their report? 

It’s important to talk to your union. You may have contacted them already and will certainly need to as your position as head may be challenged. You can outline to them what your concerns are and they will be able to give you an idea of whether you do have cause to complain or not. You might want to look at previous Ofsted reports written by your inspector. Are there similar patterns you can see emerging in his/ her style of inspecting? Have other schools had similar comments made about them? 

It’s not an easy decision to make when you are in a vulnerable position yourself. Take a few days to consider, do your research, talk to your key people and make the decision from there.