Second Head Teachers’ Union Passes No Confidence in Ofsted
The Association of School and College Leaders has passed a motion of no confidence in “the ability of Ofsted’s leadership to address the damage being done by the new inspection system”, calling the grading arrangement an “overbearing mess”. It will survey members on whether to hold an informal ballot for industrial action.
Its general secretary Pepe Di’Iasio says the union did not act “lightly”, that Ofsted’s “warm words about recognising wellbeing pressures… have not been matched by the action necessary”, that negotiation had “hit a brick wall”, and that “the current system is not fit for purpose”. The chief inspector Sir Martyn Oliver said on the same day that an independent survey of providers showed Ofsted was “on the right track”, and the inspectorate acknowledges that “workload and wellbeing remain a challenge”. The Department for Education says it is working with both to ensure accountability is “fair, proportionate and focused on helping every school get better”. The report cards at issue replaced the old one- or two-word judgements last November, a change made after the death of the head teacher Ruth Perry, whose inquest in January 2023 found an Ofsted inspection had contributed to it. The system intended as the remedy is now the subject of a second union’s no-confidence motion in a month, the National Association of Head Teachers having warned in September that it could pose a “risk to life”. For parents the immediate question is narrower: whether the inspections their school is preparing for will happen on schedule, and the answer now depends on a ballot that has not yet been called.