Ofsted inspections pushing headteachers to ‘point of destruction’, union chief says

School leaders are being pressurised “to the point of destruction”, the head of a teaching union has said, as he put the education establishment “on notice”. During a speech to the union’s annual conference in Belfast, Paul Whiteman, the general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), outlined his criticisms of Ofsted, the schools watchdog for England . The two-day gathering, which began on Friday afternoon, is the first of its kind since Ofsted introduced a “Nando’s-style” scorecard inspection framework in November – a move vigorously opposed by a number of teaching unions. Paul Whiteman of the NAHT. Photograph: Jonathan Brady/PA Whiteman told delegates: “Ofsted does not raise standards, nor does it serve children,” and he pushed back against claims that “anyone who wants a different approach to inspection wants to lower the bar”. After the high court dismissed a legal challenge to the new inspection regime, the NAHT considered taking industrial action but has since rowed back in response to talks with Ofsted and the Department for Education (DfE). These discussions resulted in further measures, including the creation of an independent advisory group to monitor the impact of the changes on headteachers’ mental health and wellbeing. In 2023, the headteacher Ruth Perry killed herself after Ofsted inspectors planned to downgrade her primary school from “outstanding” status to “inadequate”. …