School leaders are often torn between meeting Ofsted’s expectations and making the best choices for their pupils, according to a leading education researcher.

Robert Coe, director of research and evaluation at Evidence Based Education, told an audience at the NAHT headteachers’ union’s primary education conference today that Ofsted “isn’t necessarily always right about everything”.

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“Sometimes I think an ethical leader has to make a choice between doing what’s going to please Ofsted and what’s actually best for the learners in your school - and that’s a tough choice,” he said.

“Think about the children in your school and what’s best for them.”

When asked whether he believes school leaders were being asked to make a choice between pleasing Ofsted and doing what’s right for pupils, Paul Whiteman, NAHT general secretary, said: “I don’t think they’re mutually exclusive.

“If Ofsted, or whatever the inspectorate looks like, is doing the right thing, they’ll be open to that dialogue between professionals where they can understand choices that the school has made - and they won’t just necessarily fit it into their view of what the preferred model is.

“The constant conversation, particularly around teaching styles, that we have with Ofsted is there isn’t one preferred [style] - what you need to do is understand from the school leader in that setting why they are applying that style, or that decision in that setting.

“So as long as we can move away from this very fixed idea of what’s right and what’s wrong - because there isn’t a single idea in education of what’s right and what’s wrong - then actually we can make some progress.”

Ofsted has been approached for comment.