Changes to Ofsted school inspections ‘do nothing to address stress’ claims teacher poll

Ofsted, which is responsible for inspecting state and some independent schools, published its ‘new look’ report cards and a revised method it will use for assessing and grading schools last month.

The non-ministerial government department proclaimed that the plans will make education inspections ‘fairer on professionals’ as well as give parents ‘better and more detailed information’.

Teachers are worried that the Ofsted changes will 'add to workload'. Photograph: iStock

But a survey of initial reactions from 9,683 teachers conducted by Teacher Tapp, shows that just 1 per cent said they felt ‘very positive’ about the changes with over a quarter (27 per cent) feeling negative.

Teacher Tapp, which polls teachers via its app, reported that instead of reducing pressure many teachers worry the changes will pile on extra work.

One respondent said: “It’s going to add hugely to workload and stress.” Another added: “It does nothing to address the stress and burdens caused by Ofsted. If anything, it makes it worse.”

Ofsted came under pressure to make changes in the wake of the death of headteacher, Ruth Perry. The Caversham Primary School leader died by suicide in January 2023 after an Ofsted inspection downgraded her school from "outstanding" to "inadequate".

The new plans will come into effect from November and follow Osted’s removal of single word judgments. Instead, inspections will have a 5-point grading scale and a wider range of evaluation areas. A cap on the length of inspection days will ‘reduce workload for the education workforce’ and evaluation will also aim to ‘support and promote leader and staff wellbeing,’ said Ofsted.

A challenging inspection causes ‘acute stress’ for the teaching workforce, found a separate independent report.

The report into the wellbeing impact of the new changes to Ofsted’s inspections urged the government to increase ‘personal support’ for leaders who receive a poor inspection outcome.

“This is a particularly high-risk moment for leaders and other involved staff and more support is required to ensure that they can move past this challenging experience with minimal risk to their health and wellbeing,” said report author Sinéad
Mc Brearty, CEO of Education Support.

Teacher tapp, which was founded and is run by ex-teachers and education researchers, said: “For most teachers, the new framework is being eyed nervously; however, the real test will be in the inspections. For now, it’s a matter of waiting to see if the changes will bring a new era to Ofsted inspections.”

Ofsted announcement here