Pepe Di’Iasio, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, comments on research to evaluate the implementation of Ofsted’s renewed inspection framework.
“Despite the positive way in which these findings are presented, it should be ringing alarm bells that nearly 90% of schools have reported that the mental wellbeing of staff has been negatively affected by Ofsted inspections.
“It is extremely serious that the health of so many educators is being undermined and we do not understand how Chief Inspector Sir Martyn Oliver can then say the system is on the right track. This is clearly not the case.
“The feedback that we receive from our members shows a devastating toll on wellbeing and several have told us they will leave the profession before undergoing another Ofsted inspection. These are highly experienced and resilient professionals who will be lost to the education system.
“The survey also shows that less than half of secondary schools agreed that their inspection was tailored to their context. This is a crucial issue as it is clear that the inspection methodology being used penalises schools serving disadvantaged communities. These are the very schools which most need support rather than an inspection system which makes their job even more difficult.
“To be clear school and college leaders fully accept the need for an independent inspection system which provides information and assurance to parents. However, oversight should never be at the expense of the wellbeing of our education workforce. Ofsted has not done nearly enough to address this issue and we call upon the government to intervene and conduct a review of the inspection system.”