School and college leaders today passed a motion of no confidence
in the ability of Ofsted's leadership to address the damage being
done by the new inspection system.
ASCL Council, the association's policymaking body, said it had
seen no meaningful progress on the part of Ofsted to address
significant wellbeing issues caused by inspections, and that it
is increasingly concerned about the welfare and morale of
members.
And it called on the government to pause inspections and review
the inspection system as a matter of urgency.
It also agreed that ASCL will survey members on whether to hold
an indicative ballot on industrial action if change is not
forthcoming.
Pepe Di'Iasio, General Secretary of the Association of School and
College Leaders, said: This motion reflects the strength of
feeling among our members. It is not a step we have taken lightly
but only after our repeated attempts to resolve our concerns
through discussion and negotiation have hit a brick wall.
Ofsted's warm words about recognising wellbeing pressures on
school and college leaders have not been matched by the action
necessary to dial down the incredibly high stakes of an
inspection system which is damaging people's health and driving
them out of the profession.
School and college leaders agree with the importance of having an
inspection system which gives parents information and assurance
and works in the best interests of children and young people.
But the current system is not fit for purpose. It is an
overbearing mess and urgently needs to be reviewed.
The full text of ASCL Council's position statement is:
ASCL has no confidence in the ability of Ofsted's leadership to
address the damage being caused by the renewed inspection
framework.
We have seen no evidence of meaningful progress on the part of
Ofsted to address the significant workload and wellbeing issues
caused by the framework, and are increasingly concerned about the
welfare and morale of our members.
The evidence is clear that schools serving disadvantaged
communities are penalised by the methodology being used in
inspections and we are not convinced that enough weight will be
placed on similar schools comparisons to take school context into
account. Neither are we persuaded that report cards are clear and
helpful to parents given that they can only be properly
understood by reading the toolkits provided to inspectors.
Furthermore, we fear that the disproportionate stress and anxiety
exerted by the inspection system will lead to school leaders
deciding to leave their posts with a consequent impact on
schools, children, and young people.
Repeated attempts to resolve these matters through negotiation
have not been productive and ASCL does not believe that genuine
change is achievable within the current culture of the
inspectorate.
We call upon the government to pause inspections and review the
inspection system as a matter of urgency in order to allow these
issues to be properly examined and acted upon in the best
interests of families, schools, and colleges.
