Labour has urged Ofsted to “reflect on the culture” of school inspections following the “heartbreaking” death of headteacher Ruth Perry.
Amid calls for the checks to be paused, shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said his party would keep them but reform the way they operate.
Shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson will be consulting with the teaching profession on the tone and the “unhealthy” level of pressure that comes with inspections in the coming weeks, he said.
“I think Ofsted does need to reflect on the culture of inspection and the unhealthy degree of pressure that people feel under when they’re going through an inspection, it shouldn’t feel like an ordeal,” Mr Streeting told Times Radio.
“Labour’s said very clearly we are going to stick with inspections, but we are going to reform the way that they operate.”
Changes could include moving to a more balanced “scorecard approach looking at a whole range of measures”, he said.
