Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said;
“Given recent events and widespread concerns about leaders’ wellbeing, it’s the height of insensitivity for Ofsted to be going into schools or colleges this week.
Ofsted should pause all its inspections and reflect upon the unmanageable and counter-productive stress they cause for school leaders, and the impact on leaders. This stress is well-documented in literature about Ofsted. That they are phoning leaders this week and initiating inspections speaks to the arrogance of Ofsted and their absolute lack of empathy.
The claims by Ofsted to make fair or reliable judgements are not credible and this is part of the immense stress and distress for leaders.
