Responding as Ofsted chief inspector Sir Martyn Oliver prepares to announce the launch of the 'Big Listen' consultation into changes to the inspection regime at the ASCL annual conference, Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders' union NAHT, said:

“We welcome the chief inspector’s openness to change at Ofsted and are hopeful this consultation will build on our early conversations about the fundamental reform which is so desperately needed.

"The current inspection regime has caused untold harm to the mental health and wellbeing of school leaders and their staff, adding to stress and workload while often failing to give a fair or balanced judgement on schools’ strengths and weaknesses.

“School leaders are passionate about helping all children, including the most vulnerable, to flourish. Ofsted has too often hindered rather than helped them in this mission.

“We have already made a strong case for a series of positive recommendations for change in our recent report Rethinking School Inspection. We are clear that far-reaching reform is needed, including an end to the blunt single-word grades which can cause so much damage to schools and their staff.

“It is vital that the views of school leaders are heard properly during this listening exercise and the responses of representative organisations such as the NAHT are given due weight. Even more important is that they are acted upon quickly by Ofsted and the government.”