Should Ofsted be abolished?

The debate around what lies ahead for Ofsted has intensified recently. Many schools have already lost faith in the school inspection system as it stands, with teachers and unions stating that it is punitive, data-driven and unsupportive, while placing undue pressure on teacher and school leader workload and stress.

According to a recent survey of more than 800 teachers, by the Teacher Support Network, 93 per cent claimed school inspections contributed to stress, 88 per cent said they caused anxiety, while nine in 10 believed they had either a negative or neutral impact on student results.

Julian Stanley, chief executive of the charity, said that there is a “generalised fear” of Ofsted, which is partly to do with the way in which it has been positioned. He continued: “If it is causing this level of stress and anxiety, then something can’t be right. It is a designed process that is externally imposed upon people, and many people feel they are providing data, and spending a lot of time preparing for this, but there is not much coming back from these inspections that is designed to help improve your own practice.”