Ofsted sent back to the drawing board on school inspections

School inspections in England are set to be overhauled for the second time in a year, after the Education Secretary told Ofsted to rethink its new system following complaints that it is dangerously stressful for teachers.

Lucy Powell is directing Ofsted to revisit its inspection framework. She wants inspectors to take greater account of the social and economic background of each school and its pupils, especially when they judge how inclusive a school is.

The current system

The new inspection system was introduced in November 2025. It replaced the old single-word judgements, such as outstanding and inadequate, with report cards that give a separate grade for each area of a school's work.

Each area, apart from safeguarding, is graded on a five-point scale: exceptional, strong standard, expected standard, needs attention and urgent improvement. Inclusion became a headline area in its own right, to show how well schools serve vulnerable and disadvantaged children.

Why it is changing

The report cards were meant to give parents more information and reduce the pressure created by single-word grades. But teachers and school leaders have complained that the new system is just as stressful as the old one.

In one survey, two thirds of staff said the new system was as bad as or worse than the framework it replaced, and three out of four staff who had been inspected said the experience had a negative effect on their mental health.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said there were "serious concerns about fairness and comparability" and called for "an inspection system that is rigorous and proportionate".

The death of Ruth Perry

The debate about inspection has been shaped by the death of Ruth Perry, a headteacher in Reading, who took her own life in January 2023 while waiting for an Ofsted report that downgraded her school from outstanding to inadequate. A coroner later found that the inspection had contributed to her death.

Her sister, Professor Julia Waters, has campaigned for reform. She said she had been contacted by at least a dozen teachers left feeling suicidal by Ofsted inspections.

What happens next

Ms Powell will set out the changes to Ofsted in the coming weeks. An independent evaluation of the current framework is due to publish an interim report later this year.

What parents should know

Inspection reports remain an important source of information for families choosing schools, especially with secondary school applications due by 31 October. Parents are encouraged to read the full report rather than relying on a single grade, and to visit schools and talk to staff and pupils where they can.

Schools in Birmingham

Birmingham has more than 400 state schools, many of them serving areas with high levels of deprivation. School leaders in the city have long argued that inspections should take more account of the challenges their pupils face, such as poverty, high numbers of children learning English as an additional language and pupils who join part way through the year.

Getting support

Teachers who are struggling can get free, confidential support from Education Support, a charity for the education workforce, which runs a helpline open 24 hours a day on 08000 562 561.