Ofsted should be abolished, teaching union NASUWT agrees

Teaching union NASUWT has approved a motion calling for the abolition of Ofsted, adding to growing pressure on the schools watchdog.

Teachers described a "deep-seated fear" of Ofsted inspections at the union's annual conference in Glasgow on Monday.

Last month, the National Education Union also called for an immediate freeze to inspections.

Ofsted has said most school leaders find inspections "constructive and collaborative".

There has been mounting criticism of Ofsted following the death of head teacher Ruth Perry, who took her own life ahead of a report downgrading her school from "outstanding" to "inadequate".

Her family has said her death was a "direct result of the pressure" caused by the school inspection.

State schools in England which are inspected by Ofsted are ranked on a four-point scale - "outstanding", "good", "requires improvement" and "inadequate".

The motion passed on Monday acknowledged that the "perceived demands of Ofsted are the major contributor to the excessive workload and bureaucracy that blights the lives of teachers".

It instructed the NASUWT's national executive to work with other education unions to call for an immediate inspections freeze, and to launch a campaign to abolish the system in its "current form", replacing it with a supportive framework.

Primary school teacher Martin Hudson, who put forward the motion, said there was a "genuine and deep-seated fear" of Ofsted among teachers which was "completely unacceptable".

"Ofsted is a scourge of the classroom and the destroyer of teachers," he added.

Gherie Wedeyesus, a teacher from Brent, said: "Let's put an end to this peddler of misery. Let's end this reign of terror and abolish Ofsted."

Others who spoke at the conference called for Ofsted to be reformed rather than abolished.

The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) has also indicated it could take legal action against Ofsted following its failure to pause inspections after Ms Perry's death.

And last week, school leader Dr Martin Hanbury quit his role as an Ofsted inspector, telling the BBC he felt his role could cause "more harm than good". He described the one-word grading system as "totally unfit for purpose".

Earlier in April, 12 chief executives running more than 200 academies in England said Ofsted must rethink how it does inspections.

An Ofsted spokesperson said: "Inspections are first and foremost for children and their parents - looking in depth at the quality of education, behaviour and how well, and safely, schools are run.

"Our inspectors are all former or current school leaders who fully understand the pressures of the role. We always want inspections to be constructive and collaborative, and in the vast majority of cases school leaders agree that they are."

A spokesperson for the Department for Education said: "Ofsted has a crucial role to play in upholding education standards and making sure children are safe in school.

"They provide independent, up to date evaluations on the quality of education, safeguarding, and leadership which parents greatly rely on to give them confidence in choosing the right school for their child."