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Ofsted: Act now for fairer, safer inspection
Read about our campaign in a nutshell or explore all the details below.
The independent well-being impact assessment has made it clear that the revised Ofsted framework continues to pose a risk to the safety and well-being of school staff.
Since the launch of Ofsted’s consultation in February, NAHT has robustly challenged the proposals and called out the risks to our members. We have done this publicly and privately.
Our campaign now enters its next phase. Our legal action remains live. This action centres on Ofsted’s failure to take meaningful action to address the negative impact of inspection on the mental health of school staff.
In parallel, we continue to engage in intensive discussions with government - urging them to intervene before these proposals are rolled out.
We know our members are keen to take action too. As a first step, we are calling on you to write to your employer to highlight the risks this revised framework poses and demand they take action to protect you.
If the range of actions above do not achieve the outcomes we desire, we have plans to escalate our actions and, at that point, we would be clear with members as to what we are calling on them to do next.
We're calling on Ofsted to halt the introduction of its revised framework and rethink its approach in light of widespread warnings from both school leaders and an independent risk assessment that their plans will damage school leader mental health and well-being.
The issue
NAHT members have overwhelmingly rejected Ofsted’s revised inspection proposals, describing them as unworkable, damaging, and completely out of touch with the realities of school leadership.
At a recent meeting attended by over 2,000 members - representing hundreds of thousands of pupils - the strength of feeling was undeniable, with almost nine in ten attendees in favour of moving towards industrial action.
School leaders are united in their belief that the proposed changes would worsen workload, harm staff well-being, and further erode trust in the inspection process. There is deep frustration at Ofsted’s failure to engage meaningfully with the profession, and growing anger at being ignored. The lessons Ofsted should have learned following the tragic death of Ruth Perry have been dismissed.
The proposals do not enhance accountability, they pose a serious risk to schools and their leaders. NAHT has already launched legal proceedings and is mobilising nationwide opposition.
The message is clear: these reforms must be fundamentally rethought. You can help ensure your voice is heard on these issues by taking part in our campaign.
Latest updates
Over 2,000 school leaders meet with NAHT's general secretary and back campaign actions
On 16 September 2025, over 2,000 school leaders met with NAHT's general secretary Paul Whiteman, as well as our head of policy Ian Hartwright and NAHT's president Angi Gibson. The outcome of the online meeting was that our members overwhelmingly support a campaign to oppose Ofsted's revised framework.
Nearly nine in ten (89%) of schools leaders on the call were in favour of exploring industrial action options, 89% said they were willing to write to their MP to voice their conerns and 80% would write to their employer. Three-quarters (75%) were prepared to attend a demonstration outside Ofsted's headquarters, and 73% would feel better supported by the presence of a union health and safety representative during inspections of their school.
Read the full story here
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91% of school leaders oppose Ofsted's revised framework
On 10 September 2025, we published the outcome of a snap poll of school leaders conducted in the first 24 hours after Ofsted announced its plans. Over nine out of ten (91%) school leaders opposed the revised framework and the same proportion (91%) said it would negatively affect their mental health and well-being.
The poll, which received over 1,400 responses overnight, also collected more than 800 free-text comments from school leaders, many of which called for a more collaborative, supportive model focused on school improvement rather than judgement, similar to the systems already operating successfully in Wales and Northern Ireland.
Read the full story here
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Ofsted publishes outcome of consultation
On 9 September 2025, Ofsted published its consultaiton response, the contents of which clearly showed that its new approach to inspection would continue to pose direct risks to the health and well-being of school leaders.
Ofsted confirmed it would press ahead with its proposals for a graded system, despite repeated warnings from school leaders that such a model is overly punitive and ineffective at maintaining and improving school standards.
It also ignored many of the areas touched on by an independent well-being impact assessment, including suggestions to slow down the roll-out of the framework and reconsider the exemplary standard. Futhermore, Ofsted's proposals do not go far enough to provide school leaders with confidence that any complaints they have about their inspection will be handled independently and impartially.
The conclusion drawn by the independent well-being impact assessment was that the revised framework 'does not reduce the pressure on leaders to achieve a desirable outcome'.
Although NAHT achieved a number of hard-won concession, including a reduction in the number of separate areas being graded and a limit to the number of hours for which an inspector can be in school, we do not believe these proposals can go ahead in their current state.
Read our full response
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NAHT’s legal challenge
NAHT has initiated legal action against Ofsted over the potential impact of its inspection proposals on the mental health and well-being of head teachers and school staff. We issued a claim for judicial review on Friday 2 May 2025, ahead of our Annual Conference in Harrogate. On Saturday 3 May, delegates debated and carried a motion calling for all ‘legal and industrial options’ to be explored to protect the mental and physical health of school leaders in the face of Ofsted’s new report card proposals.
Our claim argues that adequate consultation has not been conducted regarding the plan for a new five-point scale to grade schools, as this element of the proposals was presented as final during Ofsted’s report card consultation that closed on 28 April 2025, while any other possible options were rejected with no reference to well-being – despite Ofsted recognising that well-being is an important instigator for the changes it is making.
We are currently waiting for the court to decide whether to grant permission for the case to proceed.
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Our reports
Resetting the relationship: Ofsted reform
In our January 2025 report Resetting the Relationship: Ofsted reform, over nine in 10 (93%) school leaders told us they do not have confidence in Ofsted to design an effective new inspection framework; more than three quarters (76%) believed a completely new framework and inspection methodology is needed, rejecting Ofsted’s plans to simply ‘evolve’ the current inspection system; and three quarters (75%) said the retention of graded ‘key sub-judgements’ would be the wrong course of action.
Rethinking school inspection
Rethinking school inspection sets out the interim and longer term changes needed to create a fair, proportionate and humane inspection system.
Please also see NAHT’s response to Ofsted’s Big Listen consultation (June 2024), where we pressed the inspectorate for immediate removal of single-phrase judgements ahead of full system reform.
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NAHT’s Ofsted inspection risk assessment framework
Employers have a legal obligation to identify and manage risks to the health, safety and well-being of employees. This includes foreseeable stressors, such as the impact of an Ofsted inspection.
NAHT provides the follow framework as a starting point, but it does not replace a school-specific assessment.
Download our risk assessment framework
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Write a letter to your employer
We are now asking our members to write to their employer, requesting that they explain what they will do to protect and support school leaders and their teams in light of the recently published independent well-being impact assessment.
We’ve also prepared a detailed FAQs document to clarify what is meant by 'employer'.
If you want to get more involved in NAHT, please email organising@naht.org.uk.
Heard back from your employer?
If you have heard back from your employer, please forward their response to organising@naht.org.uk.
We have also prepared a template letter that you can use to acknowledge your employer's response and urge them to write to the Secretary of State for Education with their concerns
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Campaign wins
In September 2024, government announced it would scrap single-word Ofsted judgements – a measure NAHT has repeatedly called for as a first step towards more fundamental reform.
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If you are an NAHT official
The resources below are available to support you when communicating your concerns regarding inspection with employers and colleagues in your branch or region.
JCNC letter
We are asking that local officials who attend employer JCNC (Joint Consultation and Negotiating Committees) on members' behalf put this letter on the agenda and ask the employer to respond.
This will ensure the issue, and the danger to members' health and well-being, is given a high profile at these meetings.
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Campaign slide deck
Raise awareness of our campaign with colleagues in your branch or region using this slide deck.
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