The NEU’s report on the impact of the new Ofsted inspection framework, published one year on from its announcement, shows that school inspection continues to perpetuate harm against teachers and school leaders.
The report includes a survey of teachers and leaders, the majority of whom have undergone an inspection since the introduction of the new framework.
It shows:
- 85 per cent of those recently inspected reported an increase in workload in preparation. 50 per cent reported a significant increase.
- One in four respondents (26 per cent) said that the experience of an inspection made them want to leave education. This rises to more than a third (36 per cent) amongst leaders.
- 65 per cent of those who have experienced both the new framework and its predecessor said it felt the same as before or worse.
The report, A circle of stress and fear: The New Ofsted Framework – feedback from teachers and leaders one year on, is released today (23 September). As well as the survey results, the report contains a comparison of published inspection reports written under the new inspection framework with those completed under the old framework. The NEU report also contains material from interviews with a sample of senior and middle leaders (predominantly head teachers).
Key Findings
Ofsted inspection continues to drive untenably high workload:
- Of those who had been inspected under the new framework, 85 per cent reported that their workload had increased in preparation for inspection, including 50 per cent who stated that their workload had increased significantly.
- For those still waiting to be inspected under the new framework, 92 per cent had seen an increase in workload in preparation for inspection, including 65 per cent who reported a significant increase.
- Leaders and primary school respondents reported a heavier workload burden.
Ofsted inspection harms physical and mental wellbeing:
- 87 per cent of survey respondents who had undergone recent inspection reported negative impacts from exhaustion, including 51 per cent reporting a significant negative impact.
- 86 per cent reported a negative impact on their stress levels.
- Primary school respondents reported worse impacts.
- Respondents from more deprived schools reported a greater negative impact on their exhaustion levels.
Ofsted inspection causes teacher and school leader attrition:
- One in four – 26 per cent of respondents – said their recent experience of inspection made them want to leave the education profession.
- More than one third (36 per cent) of school leaders indicated that inspection made them want to leave the profession, compared to 25 per cent of classroom teachers.
Teachers and school leaders report negative perspectives on Ofsted’s changes to the inspection process:
- Ofsted’s new “secure-fit” grading process drives intensive workload pressures (and associated high stress) to prepare for inspection. 54 per cent of respondents disagreed that the “secure-fit” approach was a fairer and more appropriate method of grading compared with “best fit”, while 27 per cent weren’t sure.
- There continue to be problems with how Ofsted’s complaints system is accessed and concerns about the impartiality and fairness of the process.
The education profession does not feel that the new inspection framework is an improvement, and a significant number of school staff continue to dread and fear inspection:
- 65 per cent of respondents who had been inspected under the new inspection framework said it felt the same as before or was worse.
- 49 per cent were negative about their overall experience of inspection, while 23 per cent were positive and 29 per cent were neutral about their experience.
- Those who were awaiting inspection bore similarly negative views about the new inspection framework. For these respondents, a sense of dread toward upcoming inspection remained significant and pervasive.
Ofsted also exhibits bias in its grading approach:
- Under the new framework, secondary schools are more likely to receive an Exceptional grade than primary schools.
- Schools in deprived areas (those with higher income deprivation affecting children index (IDACI) scores) are more likely to receive harsher grades. This is predominantly observed in the attendance and behaviour evaluation area and the achievement evaluation area.
Testimony
Quotes from members featured in the report demonstrate the urgent need for change:
“Lots of box ticking and evidence gathering, and very little actually had meaningful impact for the children.” - Primary classroom teacher at highly deprived school
“I feel sick every Sunday night as I’m worried they will come. The head is putting everyone under a lot of stress to be Ofsted-ready.” - Secondary classroom teacher
“It felt like something that was done to us, not with us. I watched the mental health of my colleagues plummet during and after the inspection. During the reading of the report at the end, a deputy head teacher was visibly sobbing but the last inspector did not pause or acknowledge the distress she was in.” - Senior leader, secondary school
“I cannot go through this again. I have been through six inspections in my career, and this has sealed the early retirement deal. Never, ever again.” - Primary classroom teacher
“I don’t want to be SLT if that’s what they have to go through.” - Primary classroom teacher
“It has made me realise how impossible this job really is. I always thought I could handle it, but the recent inspection under the new framework has made me realise it’s just not possible to do anything but survive in this job and ultimately fail. Completely broken by it.” -Secondary classroom teacher
“I did not sleep. I cried constantly. It was a circle of stress and fear.” -
Primary classroom teacher at highly deprived school
Recommendations
The NEU wants to see Ofsted abolished and replaced by an inspection system that is supportive, effective and fair.
The report features a series of short- and long-term recommendations to Ofsted, the Department for Education (DfE) and political decision makers.
Recommendations for immediate relief
- Ofsted should stop using national average comparisons to primarily determine final grades for achievement and for attendance and behaviour. References to national average comparisons under these evaluation areas in the school inspection toolkit should be removed.
- Ofsted should return to the “best-fit” grading methodology.
- The DfE should engage with the profession and education unions around the unsustainable workload reported and devise a strategy to improve the quality of working lives, particularly given the wider context of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms and the implementation of curriculum change.
- The DfE should deliver on their commitment to identify opportunities to support the wellbeing of head teachers in the context of inspection outcomes, particularly those facing difficult inspection outcomes.
- Ofsted should commission an immediate external review of the training of its inspectors, focused on consistency, training on wellbeing and mental health, and its approach to understanding school context and phase.
- Ofsted should establish a new, fully independent and transparent body to assess and judge complaints regarding schools’ Ofsted inspections.
Recommendations for the long term
- Ofsted should introduce a narrative-based school inspection report to replace the five-point grading scale.
- The government should prioritise a move towards inspection at school group and multi-academy trust (MAT) level.
Commenting on the report, Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said:
"It is just not acceptable that the new framework is driving this amount of stress and harm to the mental and physical health of school staff. How can we carry on with an inspection framework that makes a quarter want to leave the profession?
“This is not the progress that the profession called for two years ago. Ofsted have failed to take feedback seriously and seem oblivious to the cost and danger to leaders and teachers’ working lives and health.
“The degree of scrutiny and surveillance on the profession in this country is hugely problematic and must be addressed.
“We call on Sir Martyn Oliver to seriously engage with the findings about the intense workload and poor health directly driven by his new Nando’s score cards and framework.
“These findings show preventable harms and we can’t look away from those. The responses from leaders and teachers are distressing and our duty to represent them is something the NEU takes very seriously."
Editor's Note
The report features findings from:
- A large-scale online survey of 1,970 NEU members on their experience or anticipation of inspection under the new framework, conducted over two weeks in June 2026. 1,508 survey respondents (77 per cent of the sample) had experienced inspection under the new framework, including 196 head teachers and senior leaders. Of the remainder, 462 respondents were still ‘in the window’, awaiting inspection under the new framework.
- For respondents who had been inspected, responses were analysed by their final report card grades under the new inspection framework. Respondents from schools with lower grades were more likely to report negative experiences and views on the new inspection framework – however, there were some findings that cut across grading outcomes, particularly impacts on workload and wellbeing. Overall, the negative findings of this survey are largely driven by those receiving the most common grade – Expected standard – across different evaluation areas.
- Analysis of the grades of 1,320 published inspection reports under the old and new inspection frameworks.
- Interviews of a small sample of senior and middle leaders (predominantly head teachers) on their experience of inspection.