Responding to the new Ofsted annual report, Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said:

“This report rightly reflects the achievements of schools, which have come against a difficult backdrop post-pandemic – including a cost of living crisis, continued funding challenges, and amid a growing crisis in staff recruitment and retention.

“Pupil attendance and behaviour are of course important, and school leaders see both as significant challenges right now. But they are not just a matter for schools and parents. They are impacted by the government’s failure to invest enough in help for families through social care, mental health services, and to fix the broken, under-funded SEND system, which is failing to ensure children get the support they need.

“However, Ofsted still seems to be in denial about the growing consensus across the education sector that as an inspectorate, it needs fundamental reform. We do not recognise the picture being painted of schools being largely positive about the inspection process – our evidence tells a very different story.

“Ofsted inspections have a damaging, sometimes dangerous, impact upon staff mental health and wellbeing – fuelling difficulties in recruitment and retention - and its single-word judgements are neither fair nor consistent.  The limited changes Ofsted has introduced so far, do not go nearly far enough.

“Our new findings, published today, find that 85% of our members are ‘unconfident’ or ‘very unconfident’ in Ofsted. Nearly two-thirds (64%) disagreed that headline grades are reliable, and Ofsted pressures were most frequently identified as the factor which had the biggest impact on members' mental health over the last year.

“We stand ready to work with government and the incoming Ofsted chief inspector to discuss the reforms that are so desperately needed.”