The education secretary has been warned that Ofsted’s inspection report card proposals risk “further, preventable deaths” and urged to delay the reforms.
A coalition of education unions, headteachers and former senior Ofsted inspectors has written to Bridget Phillipson to express concern about the watchdog’s plans to change the school inspection framework.
Ofsted is planning to inspect schools across 11 different areas on a new five-point grading scale when it launches its report cards later this year.
Signatories to the letter include the general secretaries of four leading education unions - the Association of School and College Leaders, the NAHT school leaders’ union, and the NEU and NASUWT teaching unions - and Professor Julia Waters, sister of headteacher Ruth Perry, who took her own life following an Ofsted inspection in 2023.
The watchdog’s consultation on its inspection reform closes at the end of today. Ofsted has already committed to revising its proposed grade descriptors, after admitting that its approach to grading needs “simplifying”, as Tes first reported last week.
Ofsted plans ‘will impact staff wellbeing’
While the coalition welcomes the government’s steps to scrap single-word inspection judgements, it says it is ”deeply concerned” about Ofsted’s current proposals.
The letter warns that the plans will ”have a detrimental impact on the wellbeing of education staff, and hence on students’ school experience”, reflecting concerns expressed by the NAHT last week.
The coalition’s main concern is that the proposed report cards and grading system “fail to address the recommendations of the coroner following the tragic, preventable death of Ruth Perry”.
Ms Perry took her own life in January 2023 after an Ofsted inspection downgraded her school, Caversham Primary in Berkshire, from “outstanding” to “inadequate”, based on safeguarding concerns. A coroner ruled that the Ofsted inspection had contributed to her death and warned in a report that further deaths would occur if the watchdog did not make changes.
The coalition’s letter also says that Ofsted’s plans “fail to address” the recommendations of the Commons Education Select Committee’s inquiry into the work of the inspectorate, which called for greater inspector expertise and better support for school leaders.
”The proposed new system will continue to drive excessive pressure, ill-health and stress for the profession, with the very real risk of causing further, preventable deaths,” the letter states.
Fears over reliability of inspections
The coalition expresses concern that Ofsted’s proposed system will make inspections “even less reliable” and exacerbate worries about the “inaccuracy, inconsistency and subjectivity” of inspection reports.
It raises concerns around the lack of an independent complaints process for inspections. Complaints can be made during or after an inspection but they are dealt with by the watchdog itself.
The letter refers to “trust [in Ofsted] that is completely lacking as things currently stand...which has only been exacerbated by the rushed and closed nature of the consultation”.
The coalition urges Ms Phillipson to delay the introduction of inspection changes “to take the time needed to get change right”,
With collective work, it says, a school inspection system can be created that ”supports all children to achieve and thrive, without driving more talented educators out of the profession”.
Ofsted and the Department of Education have been contacted for comment.
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