ASCL considers legal action over new inspection regime

The Association of School and College Leaders has said it will explore options for taking legal action over the potential mental health impact of Ofsted’s new inspection system on leaders and staff.
 
It follows the findings of a ASCL survey in September in which 65% of respondents said they feared the new system will be worse or much worse for their wellbeing than the old system.

Another key consideration is the independent wellbeing impact assessment commissioned by Ofsted and conducted by Sinéad McBrearty, CEO of Education Support. This found that the “baseline stress level of school and college leaders is concerningly high” and that the revised framework remains high stakes in nature and “does not reduce the pressure on leaders.” 

It reported that the transition to the revised framework “will be very stressful for many leaders” and “is likely to further heighten anxiety for some leaders e.g. those who face local competition for pupil/learner enrolment, or who are currently in a category of concern.”

The ASCL's Executive Committee and Council – which are made up of elected members – have also resolved to submit a request under the Freedom of Information Act for the full results of the feedback from education professionals to Ofsted’s consultation on the new framework. 

They felt that the information on these responses published in the consultation outcome on 9 September was wholly inadequate in that it was purely descriptive and lacked quantitative analysis.

ASCL Council has further resolved to seek feedback from schools and colleges, Ofsted inspectors and the inspectorate over the validity, reliability, and impact on wellbeing of the new framework as it is implemented over the coming months. 

Earlier this year, Council warned that it would consider encouraging members who were Ofsted inspectors to withdraw their services from the inspection system because of its concerns over the five-point grading scale and rushed timetable for implementation.

At a meeting last week, Council decided it would not at this stage go ahead with that step in order to allow time to gather evidence over the impact of the framework in practice during both pilot and routine inspections, but that this action may be considered in the future depending on the outcome of this process.

Pepe Di’Iasio, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “We don’t take the step of exploring legal action lightly, but our members are gravely concerned about the stress and pressure likely to be generated by the new inspection system with its five-point grading scale applied over multiple evaluation areas."