A HEADTEACHER was stunned to find a government inspector on her school’s doorstep inquiring about a “serious incident” four years before.

The Ofsted official made the unannounced emergency inspection in October following a complaint to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children by an anonymous whistleblower.

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Noreen Hameed had just been elevated to full-time head of the Al-Asr Primary School in Blackburn when the incident happened in 2010.

The independent Muslim primary on St Silas Road has since been refounded as the Palm Tree School, with a new governing body and a new regime.

It has 89 boys and girls aged three to 11 on its roll, and nine fully-qualified teaching staff. The school plans to move the junior classes to modern buildings in Oakenhurst Road this year.

In an Ofsted report issued this week, an inspector said: “In September 2014, Ofsted received a report from the NSPCC which raised concerns about safeguarding in the school.

“In 2010, one serious incident had been recorded. However, the school did not follow the safeguarding procedure. Despite a high level of concern, a referral was not made to the local authority safeguarding board.

"Her Majesty’s inspector requested that, despite the time lapse, a referral still be made. “

 Mother-of-four Mrs Hameed said: “The incident involved a nine-year-old boy with behavioural problems.

“He told a nine-year-old girl ‘I am going to do something bad to you’.

“The teacher told me something had happened but not what.

“Nothing further happened but she should have told me exactly what happened and we should have reported the incident to social services.

“I held my hand up immediately and we reported to social services.

“Now all our staff are fully trained in safeguarding and would have given me full details. With experience, I would ask more questions now to find out more details. It could not happen now.

“The boy in question finished his schooling here and has gone on to high school where he is doing well. He has obviously calmed down.”

The report said: “All the required policies and procedures for the welfare, health and safety of pupils are in place. This includes a comprehensive safeguarding policy where staff are able to follow a clear procedure for making a referral if they have concerns about a child’s welfare.

“The safeguarding policy and procedure were updated in September 2014.”

A 2008 Ofsted inspection said: “The school provides a good education.”