The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) is to consult members about possible industrial action after a High Court judge rejected its legal challenge to Ofsted’s new inspection framework for schools in England.
Mr Justice Saini refused the union permission to apply for a judicial review on Monday, ruling that there was “no arguable error” in the watchdog’s consultation process. He concluded that Ofsted had made its decision “in a procedural and lawful way, and after a careful assessment of the various views expressed to it”, and ordered the NAHT to pay £40,000 towards Ofsted’s legal costs.
The new inspection regime, which replaces one-word judgments such as “outstanding” or “inadequate” with colour-coded report cards grading six areas on a five-point scale, remains set to launch on 10 November. The NAHT had also sought to suspend the rollout pending a full hearing, but the judge said he would have refused an interim injunction on public interest grounds had the issue arisen.
The union’s general secretary, Paul Whiteman, said the decision was disappointing but that the case had always been about a narrow point of law concerning the validity of the consultation. He added: “Both Ofsted and the government have failed to address the very real risk posed by the new framework to school leaders. We will now consider an appeal and will be consulting our members about the possibility of moving to industrial action.”
The court heard that the NAHT and other education unions had favoured a “narrative-only” approach to inspection, citing concerns about the impact of high-stakes grading on teacher wellbeing. Parents and carers, however, preferred some form of grading. Ofsted’s chief inspector, Martyn Oliver, welcomed the ruling, saying the changes would give parents more detailed information and help raise standards, particularly for disadvantaged or vulnerable pupils.
