More than a thousand complaints made following Ofsted school visits
The number of complaints to the education watchdog following school inspections has risen by 60% over three years, figures suggest.
More than a thousand complaints were made following Ofsted school inspections in England over the last three years, figures show.
The watchdog launched a consultation last month seeking the views of parents, school staff and childcare professionals on a range of proposals aimed at improving its inspections.
The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) said it has “real concerns” about the way Ofsted’s inspection reports are carried out and has warned that the new proposals may put a strain on “already overburdened” inspectors.
A freedom of information request by Radar shows 1,018 complaints were sent to Ofsted following school inspections in England between the 2021-22 and 2023-24 academic years – including 397 last year.
It means the number of complaints made has increased by 60% over the last three years, from 248 in 2021-22.
Of all complaints, 17 were upheld and 216 were partially upheld, though a school leaders’ union has criticised the lack of an independent body to investigate complaints about Ofsted.
Complaints can be made during or after an inspection to raise concerns about the inspection or its outcomes and are dealt with by the watchdog itself.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT, said: “It is simply unacceptable for complaints to be dealt with internally by the very body that is being complained about.
“In fact, there are likely many more schools experiencing problematic inspections than these figures reveal, as school leaders fear they may not be dealt with fairly if they do complain.”
He said the NAHT is calling for the implementation of “a fully independent complaints mechanism to adjudicated inspection complaints”, adding the union has “real concerns” regarding the way Ofsted’s inspection reports are carried out and handled.
Ofsted has faced criticism following the death of headteacher Ruth Perry.
Mrs Perry took her own life in January 2023 after an Ofsted report downgraded her Caversham Primary School in Reading from the highest to the lowest overall effectiveness rating over safeguarding concerns.
A coroner concluded the Ofsted inspection in November 2022 had contributed to Mrs Perry’s death.
Following this, Ofsted rolled out a series of adjustments to improve its school inspection process, and last month launched a consultation seeking views on its planned reforms for inspection and assessment from this autumn.
The consultation included plans to introduce a new report card system for schools.
Schools could be graded across a variety of different areas – including attendance and inclusion – using a colour-coded five-point scale.
But the NAHT has “grave concerns” about the proposals, warning it will put a strain on “already overburdened” inspectors and result in “more insecure judgements and unacceptable inspector conduct”.
Mr Whiteman added: “The unequal power relationship between the inspected and the inspector drives a dynamic that is genuinely dangerous to health.
“Even leaders that receive good inspection outcomes describe being broken by the adversarial and attritional nature of inspection.”
Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said reforms to Ofsted’s inspection model “could exacerbate the problem”, with the five-point grading system likely to increase “inconsistency and unfairness”.
Mr Di’Iasio added the number of complaints made to the watchdog following school visits is “an indictment of an inspection system which many school leaders regard as being punitive, unfair and inconsistent”.
“If anything, it is the tip of the iceberg, as there are almost certainly more leaders who do not make a formal complaint because they don’t think it will change anything,” he added.
An Ofsted spokesperson said: “We want our inspections to raise standards of education for all children. Our new report cards will provide better information for parents and be fairer and more balanced for schools.
“We would encourage everyone to give us their views and respond to the consultation.”
A survey of more than 800 parents by non-profit organisation More in Common, commissioned by Schools Week, found 65% preferred the proposed new “report card” system to the previous model, and only 16% said they preferred the current marking system.
But a poll of more than 11,000 teachers by app Teacher Tapp found only 24% thought the new rating system would be “somewhat fairer” than the current one.
