The National Association of Head Teachers has called for fundamental reform of UK education watchdong Ofsted, and a change in its leadership, warning that the watchdog has lost the confidence of school leaders, as mounting evidence raises fresh questions about the impact of inspections on staff wellbeing.
The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) has joined a growing revolt against Ofsted’s leadership, demanding a change at the top of the schools inspectorate and warning that its ability to restore the trust of school leaders “has been lost”.
The union’s national executive committee voted on Thursday, 15 October, to call for fundamental reform of the inspection system, escalating a dispute that has increasingly placed the wellbeing of headteachers and teachers at the centre of the debate over school accountability.
The NAHT, which represents more than 50,000 school leaders across the country, predominantly in primary schools, has also authorised its general secretary, Paul Whiteman,(pictured) and national officers to consider all available options to secure immediate relief for school leaders and achieve lasting reform, including the possibility of balloting members for strike action.
The decision makes the NAHT the third education union in less than a week to demand a change in Ofsted’s leadership. The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) passed a vote of no confidence in the inspectorate’s leadership on Friday, while the National Education Union (NEU) called on chief inspector Martyn Oliver to stand down on Wednesday, saying he had lost the confidence of the profession.
A spokesperson from the NAHT told The Eye Of media.Com: “The leadership and culture of Ofsted must change. The current approach to inspection reform has failed to address deep-rooted concerns across the profession. NAHT is calling for lasting reform that restores trust among school leaders and protects the wellbeing of staff.”
The National Governance Association (NGA), which represents school governors and trustees, has also warned that confidence in inspection is “fragile”, with governors describing the process as “brutal”, and expressing concern about the consequences for school staff.
The growing alignment between unions and governance representatives suggests that dissatisfaction with Ofsted is no longer confined to individual schools or isolated complaints, but has become a wider challenge to the credibility of the inspection system.
At the heart of the dispute is the question of whether Ofsted’s efforts to reform inspections have done enough to address longstanding concerns about pressure, workload and staff wellbeing. The watchdog, led by former Outwood Grange Academies
Trust chief executive Martyn Oliver since January 2024, introduced a revised education inspection framework late last year following widespread criticism of the previous system.
The reforms came in the aftermath of the death of Ruth Perry, the headteacher of Caversham Primary School in Reading, whose death in January 2023 prompted intense scrutiny of the pressures associated with school inspections. A coroner subsequently issued a prevention of future deaths report, highlighting concerns connected to the inspection process and prompting renewed calls for change.
However, an independent evaluation of the new inspection framework by IFF Research, commissioned by Ofsted and published last Friday, has intensified questions about whether the changes have achieved their intended purpose.
The evaluation found that almost nine in 10 schools felt the new inspections had a negative impact on staff wellbeing, while half reported that the workload associated with an inspection had reached an unmanageable level.
The findings have provided fresh ammunition for critics who argue that changes to the inspection framework have not sufficiently reduced the pressure experienced by school leaders and their teams. The NAHT has gone further, accusing Ofsted of failing to address deep-rooted concerns and describing its approach to reform as “dishonest and deficient”.
The union has also criticised the watchdog’s earlier “Big Listen” consultation, the failure to publish its full results and what it considers misleading presentation of feedback on the revised framework. These are the union’s allegations, which Ofsted has not accepted in the material provided.
The NAHT’s latest intervention follows its own campaign for safer and more proportionate inspections, including a judicial review challenge in 2025. In its statement, the union said the impact of Ofsted’s inspection framework and organisational culture on the health and wellbeing of school leaders was now well documented.
It argued that further adjustments to the existing framework would not be sufficient, insisting that both the leadership and culture of the inspectorate must change before meaningful engagement with the profession can take place.
The union wants an inspection system that can command the confidence of teachers and school leaders while continuing to provide parents and government with reliable assessments of educational standards.
The dispute now places renewed pressure on Education Secretary Lucy Powell, who is understood to be planning changes at Ofsted within the next few months, although details have yet to be announced. Speaking at the Confederation of School Trusts annual conference on Thursday, Powell acknowledged calls for change to the accountability system and said schools should be recognised for doing “the right thing”.
She also said she would not “duck” the challenge, adding that genuine inclusion must be assessed through more than information displayed on a data dashboard.
Her comments indicate that reform of school accountability is under consideration, although it remains unclear whether the government intends to make changes to Ofsted’s leadership, inspection methodology or wider role.
Leora Cruddas, chief executive of the Confederation of School Trusts, has called for inspection to be proportionate, informed by evidence, attentive to the circumstances of individual schools and worthy of the profession’s confidence. She said the sector must be willing to examine not only the quality of schools but also the institutions and processes used to judge them.
Cruddas added that Oliver intended to address the challenges and outline steps to improve confidence in inspection when he speaks at the conference on Friday, 16 October. She said the sector needed serious answers to its concerns and a commitment to continued dialogue.
Ofsted has acknowledged that more work is needed to address the pressure associated with inspections. A spokesperson for Ofsted, said the inspectorate faced a delicate balance between maintaining high standards in the interests of children and reducing the pressure experienced by headteachers and teachers.
The spokesperson added that workload and wellbeing remained challenges, and that Ofsted was working with the Department for Education while listening to parents and education professionals as it continued to improve inspections.
The immediate question is whether the government will respond to the growing opposition with changes substantial enough to restore confidence among those responsible for running schools. Ofsted plays a central role in assessing educational quality, informing parents and holding schools accountable, but its authority depends in part on the credibility and fairness of its judgements.
With three major unions now challenging its leadership, governors expressing concern and an independent evaluation highlighting continuing problems with staff wellbeing, the pressure for reform has intensified.
Oliver’s forthcoming address and the government’s expected decisions in the coming months is expected prove decisive in determining whether the dispute leads to changes in leadership, a more fundamental redesign of inspections, or another attempt to reform a system that many school leaders say has yet to regain their trust.
