Resumed inspections should be ungraded, says NAHT

Ofsted has resumed inspections this week, after delaying their start to ensure mental health awareness training can be given for all lead inspectors, following the death of head teacher Ruth Perry.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, believes that the resumed school inspections should be ungraded while reforms take place.

Commenting, Paul said: “The initial steps Ofsted has taken ahead of resuming inspections this week, are welcome - but NAHT believes it would have been better for inspections to be ungraded while more fundamental, far-reaching reform takes place, as recommended in our new report.

“That means not just enabling school leaders to raise concerns and pause inspections, but also to tackle the root causes of the intolerable pressure they pile upon school leaders and their staff, which can have such a dangerous impact on their wellbeing.

“It also means reforming inspections to ensure they provide a fairer, more reliable assessment of a schools’ strengths and weaknesses, including scrapping single-word judgements.

“We stand ready to work with the new chief inspector to bring about the changes desperately needed to help school leaders regain trust in the inspectorate, which has been so badly damaged in recent years.”