England’s largest school leaders’ union has renewed calls for the government to halt graded Ofsted inspections, amid concerns that they leave leaders “demoralised” and pose a “risk to life”.
The NAHT has shared a number of examples with education secretary Lucy Powell of what it describes as “damaging experiences” its members have faced.
The union’s latest survey findings show that 72 per cent of its headteacher members felt the direction of travel on inspection had “worsened” over the past year.
The NAHT has today launched a fresh campaign against Ofsted, recommending that inspection reports are replaced by short narrative reports setting out schools’ strengths and areas for development.
‘High-stakes, low-trust’ Ofsted framework
Ofsted introduced its latest report card framework in November, which inspects schools across at least six different evaluation areas on a five-point grading scale.
However, it has prompted concern among many within the sector, with recent analysis from Vlog revealing that secondary schools with high intakes of students with special educational needs or disabilities are five times more likely to be marked down on the inclusion grade than schools with the lowest SEND intakes.
The NAHT has called for the government to halt graded Ofsted inspections to allow for a “fundamental review of how inspection works”.
Its campaign, We Demand Better, asks for government action on inspection, funding, workload, recognition and pay.
It also urges ministers to ask Ofsted to drop grades from what it says is a “high-stakes, low-trust” framework, in favour of a short narrative report setting out schools’ strengths and areas for development.
In its polling of 5,307 NAHT members across England, 33 per cent said the direction of travel had “greatly worsened”, 39 per cent said it had “worsened” and 22 per cent said there had been “no significant change”.
Ofsted leaving leaders ‘demoralised’
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT, said: “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 wellbeing and mental health of school leaders and teachers, possibly even a risk to life.”
He added: “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.”
There have been a number of high-profile negative inspections shared recently, including a leader who was inspected during the record-breaking summer heatwave and another whose deferral request was refused despite her undergoing surgery for breast cancer.
The NAHT said that halting graded inspections would provide “vital relief to school leaders from the potentially harmful impact of high-stakes grades”.
It added that this would give the government space to devise a new approach to school inspection that is “fair, effective and supports school improvement”.
Head considers retiring early to avoid Ofsted
Amanda Hulme, who experienced an inspection under the new framework as headteacher of Claypool Primary School in Bolton, said it was easily the most stressful experience of her career.
She 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.”
Ms Hulme added: “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.”
Call for ‘meaningful’ review of teacher pay
The NAHT’s We Demand Better campaign is also calling for action on funding, as increased costs leave many schools still facing impossible decisions between cutting staff and provision.
It wants a commitment that the government will fully fund the 2027-28 pay award to ensure this does not add to pressure on school finances, and the plans within its schools White Paper, including reform of the SEND sector.
The campaign also demands government action to reduce unsustainable levels of workload, by working with school leaders to identify and remove unnecessary bureaucracy, duplication and administrative burdens.
It calls, too, for better recognition of the vital role school leaders play - including a commitment to conduct a “meaningful, comprehensive review of leadership pay and funding so that salaries properly reflect the scale, complexity and responsibilities of all modern leadership”.
Last week, a NAHT analysis found that the gender pay gap between headteachers was the widest since records began 15 years ago.
Earlier this month Ms Powell addressed concerns about Ofsted while speaking on LBC Radio.
Julia Waters, the sister of headteacher Ruth Perry who took her own life after an Ofsted inspection, that she had heard from 12 headteachers who had been left feeling suicidal after inspections
Commenting on these concerns, Ms Powell said: ”There’s nothing that is more concerning to me as education secretary than the idea that our accountability regime in this country would lead to a headteacher to taking their own life. It’s just absolutely awful and that is not at all what we should be about, the kind of culture and atmosphere that that is created here.
“So, I take incredibly seriously teacher, headteacher wellbeing and yes, of course we need an accountability structure and regime to continue school improvement. But I want to see one that that is much more kind of supportive and understanding of the great jobs that the majority, in fact, you know, almost all headteachers are doing around the country and support them with that.”
Ms Powell said she would continue to work with “headteachers, headteacher representatives and others to make sure that we get this Ofsted framework, but also the culture, and the whole regime, right”.
