Union demands graded Ofsted inspections halt amid fears they pose risk to life

A head teachers’ union has demanded a halt to graded Ofsted inspections and raised fears they still pose a risk to life.

Nearly three-quarters of school leaders felt the direction of travel on inspections had worsened in the past year, a more than 5,000-participant survey by The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) found.

This comes ahead of the one year anniversary of the watchdog scrapping single-word judgments for schools and replacing them with report cards with different grades for various areas.

NAHT has raised concerns that the change does not ease the pressure on school leaders, and urged ministers to swap the “high-stakes, low-trust” Ofsted grades for a short narrative report on schools’ strengths and areas for development.

It is now calling on the Government to halt graded Ofsted inspections to allow for a review of how they work.

NAHT’s general secretary, Paul Whiteman, said on Monday: “The clear theme emerging across all the feedback we have received is that this Ofsted framework is even more stressful than the one that preceded it.

“It poses a real and present danger to the well-being and mental health of school leaders and teachers, possibly even a risk to life.”

An Ofsted spokesperson said: “Over the last three years, we have worked closely with teaching unions to deliver significant reforms to how Ofsted inspections work, to reduce unnecessary pressure on teachers.”

In November, NAHT’s bid to bring a legal challenge against Ofsted over plans to grade schools through report cards was dismissed at the High Court.

Examples of NAHT members’ “damaging experiences” in relation to inspections have now been sent to education secretary Lucy Powell.

Mr Whiteman said: “We warmly welcome the new education secretary’s recent words stating how seriously she takes leader wellbeing and her determination to get not just the Ofsted framework, but the whole culture of accountability, right.

“A system which leaves leaders and their teams feeling so anxious, overwhelmed and demoralised both before and after inspections isn’t just bad for their health – it cannot be conducive to ensuring children receive the first-rate education they deserve.

“Really fundamental changes to inspection are needed, and we stand ready to work with the new government to achieve that.

“In the meantime, there remains a risk to the safety of school leaders, which is why we are calling for graded inspections to be halted.”

The headteacher at Claypool Primary School, Bolton, lost sleep and considered early retirement around an inspection under the new framework.

In a statement shared by NAHT, Amanda Hulme said: “It was definitely damaging to my health and really quite distressing.

“I couldn’t sleep and it led to my blood pressure and pulse rate increasing.

“Inspectors were required to work through a set of pre-determined bullet points, and much of what we do as a school simply did not ‘count’ within the framework, regardless of its impact or quality.

“The effect on my team has also been significant, with some colleagues no longer wanting to pursue headship, and another teacher considering leaving the profession entirely.

“I might have to seriously consider retiring early, before our next inspection is due – I’m just not sure I could face going through that again.”

School leaders have told the union that new Ofsted questions on their wellbeing “seem purely perfunctory”, NAHT said.

They have also criticised the “secure fit” approach as a box-ticking exercise that “restricts inspectors’ professional judgement”.

Schools must be labelled as “needs attention” if they do not meet each criteria, it added.

An Ofsted spokesperson said: “Ofsted exists to raise standards for children and to provide clear reporting to parents.”

They added: “And we involved parents to make sure our new-look inspection reports worked for them – presenting clear, colour-coded grades and detailed information about the school.

“We will continue to engage closely with trades unions – but we will also continue to grade schools.”