Commenting on a survey of 100 schools that have experienced an inspection under Ofsted’s new framework, Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said:
"This independent post-inspection survey provides more evidence on the reality in schools. Ofsted have failed to reform an inherently toxic system. It is harrowing to see that a majority of head teachers still find Ofsted inspection to have a negative impact upon their overall wellbeing, and are continuing to leave the profession as a direct result. Risks to health, and to life, have not been sufficiently mitigated.
"Ofsted's claim that inspection should not add to leaders' workload has been proven as farcical. It is no surprise that the poorly thought out new inspection framework has lumped even more burden upon an already overstretched workforce. The fact that less than half of survey respondents found Ofsted's advice to have any value further highlights the inspectorate as an out of touch tick box exercise that does not serve the communities it claims to support.
"These findings fly in the face of Ofsted's claim that schools' context will be considered during inspection under their new framework. As we've seen in Ofsted's own data release, inspectors' rigid focus on attainment data is resulting in unfair and disproportionate impacts upon those schools serving our most disadvantaged communities.
"This report adds to the deluge of evidence that the profession's trust in Ofsted is lost, and a fundamentally different system is now required – one that is supportive, effective and fair."
Editor’s Note
The research and report was produced by: Frank Coffield Emeritus Professor, UCL, Institute of Education, London University; Frank Norris MBE FCCT former Senior HMI; Chris Pascal Professor OBE Centre for Research in Early Childhood; Colin Richards Former Senior HMI and Emeritus Professor University of Cumbria and Peter Tymms, Emeritus Professor, Durham University.