Amanda Hulme, headteacher of Claypool Primary School in Horwich, Bolton, has said she is considering early retirement after describing a recent Ofsted inspection as 'easily the most stressful experience of my career'. Hulme, who experienced an inspection under the new graded framework, said the process was 'damaging to my health and really quite distressing'.
Union demands halt to graded inspections
The claims come as the NAHT, the biggest school leaders' union, is demanding a halt to graded Ofsted inspections amid concerns they are still seriously harming leaders' health and safety, posing a risk to life. The union said it had shared 'countless examples' with education secretary Lucy Powell detailing the damaging experiences its members have faced, at the one-year anniversary of the introduction of the revised inspection system.
The union said the new framework was supposed to address fears over leaders' wellbeing after a coroner concluded that an Ofsted inspection had contributed to the tragic death of Berkshire head teacher Ruth Perry, issuing a 'prevention of future deaths' report. NAHT said it raised concerns from the outset that replacing an overall single-word grade with several sub-grades would not ease 'the intolerable pressure on leaders'. It warned that the system would also perpetuate the risk of parents seeing unreliable judgements on schools and unfair interventions.
Headteacher describes health impact
Speaking about the inspection process, Hulme said: "It was definitely damaging to my health and really quite distressing. I couldn't sleep and it led to my blood pressure and pulse rate increasing. Inspectors were required to work through a set of pre-determined bullet points, and much of what we do as a school simply did not 'count' within the framework, regardless of its impact or quality."
"The effect on my team has also been significant, with some colleagues no longer wanting to pursue headship, and another teacher considering leaving the profession entirely. I might have to seriously consider retiring early, before our next inspection is due – I'm just not sure I could face going through that again."
Survey and campaign for change
A survey the NAHT ran of more than 5,000 leaders found that nearly three quarters (72 per cent) felt the direction of travel on inspection had worsened over the last year. NAHT is now calling for the government to halt graded Ofsted inspections to allow for a fundamental review of how inspection works, as it launches We Demand Better, a campaign calling for government action on inspection, funding, workload, and recognition and pay.
In the meantime, it is urging ministers to ask Ofsted to drop grades from what it says is a 'high-stakes, low-trust' framework in favour of a short narrative report setting out schools' strengths and areas for development.
Paul Whiteman, NAHT's general secretary, said: "The clear theme emerging across all the feedback we have received is that this Ofsted framework is even more stressful than the one that preceded it. It poses a real and present danger to the well-being and mental health of school leaders and teachers, possibly even a risk to life."
"We warmly welcome the new education secretary's recent words stating how seriously she takes leader wellbeing and her determination to get not just the Ofsted framework, but the whole culture of accountability, right. A system which leaves leaders and their teams feeling so anxious, overwhelmed and demoralised both before and after inspections isn't just bad for their health – it cannot be conducive to ensuring children receive the first-rate education they deserve."
An Ofsted spokesperson said it had worked with unions to deliver significant reforms and reduce unnecessary pressure on teachers. They added: "Ofsted exists to raise standards for children and to provide clear reporting to parents. We will continue to engage closely with trades unions – but we will also continue to grade schools."
