Head teachers to be consulted on strike action over new Ofsted inspections

A head teachers' union will consult its members on strike action after it lost a bid to challenge Ofsted's new inspection plans in court.

The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) claimed the watchdog failed to adequately consult on its colour-coded report card system, which is due to come into effect in England on 10 November.

Ofsted scrapped single-word judgements for schools following the death of head teacher Ruth Perry, who took her own life after an Ofsted inspection which downgraded her school.

The changes "will be better for parents" and are "fair" to schools too, Ofsted's chief inspector Sir Martyn Oliver said following the hearing.

The NAHT, which was supported by two other teachers' unions, had its legal action thrown out by the High Court on Monday.

But the union said the failure of its legal challenge did not detract from its concerns about the potential impact of Ofsted's new system on the mental health and wellbeing of school leaders and staff.

General secretary Paul Whiteman said the union "will now consider an appeal" and will consult its members on industrial action.

Sir Martyn said he was pleased with the outcome of Monday's hearing, and that Ofsted had "consulted extensively" on its proposals, which will now roll out this month as planned.

Ofsted's new inspection framework is based on a "traffic light system" which will grade schools on several areas of school life, as well as on safeguarding.

The launch was pushed back to accommodate a consultation on the proposals, which included 6,500 responses.

The NAHT told the hearing that it wanted a narrative-only approach to inspections, similar to the way it works in Wales. Estyn, the Welsh school inspectorate, has removed judgements such as excellent and good, with reports instead providing a detailed summary of key findings which highlight a school's strengths and areas for improvement.

The NAHT also claimed that wellbeing was not taken into account in Ofsted's development of its plans.

But Ofsted's barrister Sir James Eadie told the court wellbeing issues were "absolutely in Ofsted's eyeline".

The new framework, with its altered grading system, also had the "overwhelming backing" of parents, he said.

After considering both arguments, Mr Justice Saini said there was "no single solution favoured" by either party, and that Ofsted could choose how to handle its inspections.

"They were best-placed to balance the need for some form of graded assessment with the potential for such evaluations to have negative wellbeing impacts on teachers and leaders," he said.

"It is for Ofsted to decide how to conduct its inspections, in a way in which, in its expert judgement, is effective."

As part of the new inspections, schools will be given one of five grades - urgent improvement, needs attention, expected standard, strong standard, and exceptional - across several different areas.

These areas include a school's curriculum and teaching, its early years provision, its levels of achievement and how inclusive it is.

A pass or fail grade will be given in relation to safeguarding.

But the plans have proved controversial since they were first put forward earlier this year.

In September, a group including Mrs Perry's sister, Prof Julia Waters, wrote to the education secretary calling on her to intervene and delay the plans.

They said in a co-signed letter that the proposals "continue to pose a risk to the health and wellbeing of teachers and school leaders".

Ofsted said it would carry on as planned with the rollout of the new system.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson had previously said the report cards would provide "rich, granular insight" to help deliver "tailored" support for struggling schools.