Responding to the new Ofsted annual
report, Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’
union NAHT, said:
“This report rightly reflects the achievements of schools, which
have come against a difficult backdrop post-pandemic – including
a cost of living crisis, continued funding challenges, and amid a
growing crisis in staff recruitment and retention.
“Pupil attendance and behaviour are of course important, and
school leaders see both as significant challenges right now. But
they are not just a matter for schools and parents. They are
impacted by the government’s failure to invest enough in help for
families through social care, mental health services, and to fix
the broken, under-funded SEND system, which is failing to ensure
children get the support they need.
“However, Ofsted still seems to be in denial about the growing
consensus across the education sector that as an inspectorate, it
needs fundamental reform. We do not recognise the picture being
painted of schools being largely positive about the inspection
process – our evidence tells a very different story.
“Ofsted inspections have a damaging, sometimes dangerous, impact
upon staff mental health and wellbeing – fuelling difficulties in
recruitment and retention - and its single-word judgements are
neither fair nor consistent. The limited changes Ofsted has
introduced so far, do not go nearly far enough.
“Our new findings,
published today, find that 85% of our members are ‘unconfident’
or ‘very unconfident’ in Ofsted. Nearly two-thirds (64%)
disagreed that headline grades are reliable, and Ofsted pressures
were most frequently identified as the factor which had the
biggest impact on members' mental health over the last year.
“We stand ready to work with government and the incoming Ofsted
chief inspector to discuss the reforms that are so desperately
needed.”
