The scope for negotiation over Ofsted has been “exhausted”, a school leaders’ union has warned as it prepares for major talks on taking more “assertive action”.
The general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, Pepe Di’Iasio, has said the union’s council will meet to discuss Ofsted’s “lack of progress in addressing continuing concerns over the damage to wellbeing caused by inspections”.
It was that education secretary Lucy Powell has asked the schools watchdog to go “back to the drawing board” over concerns about how it inspects inclusion and that schools with more challenging contexts are faring worse under the new report card framework.
This comes after a coalition of voices from the schools sector had warned the education secretary that inspection is causing “psychological harm” and is a health and safety risk to the sector.
‘More assertive’ action required
Commenting on this week’s talks, Mr Di’Iasio said: “Our senior elected members increasingly feel that the scope for negotiation has been exhausted and more assertive action is required. Council will discuss our next steps.”
The union’s council is set to meet on Thursday and Friday this week.
Ms Powell has already written to the union to admit that Ofsted was part of a “high-stakes and low-trust” accountability system, as Vlog revealed last month.
In that letter, she said: “We need an accountability system, and Ofsted inspection is a core part of that - but it must work to support our hardworking frontline leaders and staff.
“I want to work with you, as well as Ofsted and others, to move from a high-stakes and low-trust system to one that is more supportive and, crucially, recognises the context in which you are working.”
She also told the Labour Party conference last week that she wanted to see a “much stronger emphasis” on context in the current inspection framework.
Ofsted has been contacted for comment.
