More than 1,000 school employers have been sent a letter calling on them to take action to protect staff from the potential risk posed by new Ofsted inspections.

The NAHT school leaders’ union has urged its members to write to their employer, asking them to undertake a full risk assessment of the impact of Ofsted inspections on school staff.

The move comes after a wellbeing impact assessment carried out for the inspectorate by Education Support CEO Sinéad Mc Brearty warned that leader wellbeing could worsen under the revised inspection framework.

The NAHT estimates that “more than 1,000 employers have already been sent the letter and reminded of their legal duties and responsibilities to protect all school staff before, during and after inspections”.

The union is also seeking a judicial review over the introduction of Ofsted’s new report card inspections, which are due to be launched next month.

Fears over new Ofsted inspections

On its website, the NAHT warns: “If the range of actions above do not achieve the outcomes we desire, we have plans to escalate our actions and, at that point, we would be clear with members as to what we are calling on them to do next.”

In a recent snap poll carried out during an online meeting specially convened by the NAHT, 89 per cent of members supported the union exploring industrial action options.

Paul Whiteman, the union’s general secretary, said: “Employers have a duty to risk assess. If we believe that they have not properly mitigated the identified risk, then workers can further assert their right to a safe working environment.

“If employers believe that the position of government and Ofsted in the light of the Mc Brearty report makes it impossible for them to keep people safe, then they will need to appeal to the government to make the necessary system changes.”

The union has produced a template letter that NAHT members can send to their employer, such as an academy trust or local education authority.

The letter says: “On the advice of NAHT, I am writing to raise urgent concerns about the risks posed by Ofsted’s proposed inspection framework.

“While this is not a criticism of you as our employer, it is essential that you recognise the very real dangers to staff wellbeing and take all necessary steps to protect us.”

The letter calls on employers to:

• Undertake a full risk assessment of the impact of Ofsted inspections on school staff.
• Develop and share a clear plan to mitigate the risks to staff wellbeing identified in Education Support’s report.
• Maintain open dialogue with staff about how they will protect their health, safety and welfare during inspections.

Ofsted is launching a new inspection framework this term, which will assess schools using a new five-point scale across six evaluation areas. Overall single-word inspection judgements were scrapped last year.

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