Report cards: an opportunity spurned

In this second of two posts, Headrest member Pete Crockett makes clear his disappointment with Ofsted's recent proposal to introduce report cards.

There is nothing more disappointing than a spurned opportunity to make a meaningful difference. 

Alas His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Schools, with the apparent support of the Secretary of State for Education, seem to have managed to do just this with their proposals for the Ofsted Report card. 

The coroner at the Ruth Perry inquest warned that “there is a risk of future deaths if there is only lip service paid to learning from tragedies like these.” Dame Christine Gilbert in her review observed that changes to inspection processes should “ensure that school evaluation is an inclusive process that builds professionalism, and better practice.”  

There is extraordinarily little that makes the process feel inclusive when prior to the consultation process commencing the Secretary of State for Education nails her colours forcibly to the notion that the HMCI’s proposal is the way ahead. 

Furthermore, there is a sense that Ofsted have merely adopted a “lip service” approach by opting to repackage existing practice rather than openly consider meaningful reform. 

This proposal smacks of little more than adopting some traffic light paint and reusing existing grades that are run through a thesaurus to give a mirage of meaningful change. 

Ruth Perry’s sister, Professor Julia Walters, perceives the proposal as ‘a rehash of the discredited and dangerous system it is meant to replace.” 

At Headrest we totally concur with her comment. The net result of this is not a series of reforms that look to mitigate the adverse impact of the inspection on the wellbeing and mental health of school leaders and their staff teams. 

Instead, HMCI and the Secretary of State for Education have managed to produce a proposal that could worsen them. The condemnation within the profession is widespread. 

Paul Di’lasio of the ASCL union notes that: 

“Astonishingly, Ofsted’s proposed school report cards appear to be even worse than the single-word judgements they replace.” 

Whilst Daniel Kebede of the NEU comments that:

“Ofsted were tasked with bringing around a system of inspection which produced the pressure on the school system in quite tragic circumstances and our view is this will make matters worse, not better.”  

Nor are the doubts limited to the unions that the Secretary of State seems desperate not to be seen to be “in hock” to. There are some telling observations on social media from individual educators. 

One school leader wrote: 

“Yesterday I sat with two other successful heads. All three of us are clear that under no circumstances were we intending to go through another inspection. Even if they withdraw the awful report card plan it is a clear indication of the attitude of Ofsted towards us all.”  

Another wrote: 

“I am quitting before they come to us again. It’s just not worth the personal sacrifice. They’ve not listened, they had no intention of changing for the better. The proposals look worse than ever to me. Obsessed with punitive measurements for accountability and performance.”  

A current headteacher wrote:

“I’ve just taken a school from inadequate to good in just over three years. The toll it has taken on my life is significant. The new proposed report card is staggeringly worse than the current system. Ofsted are clearly incapable of true reform. I’m done I’m out.”  

An individual with a specialism in supporting the mental health of school leaders observes that:

"There is nothing in Ofsted’s report card proposals that will reduce staff mental ill health.”  

Another person actively involved in supporting the wellbeing and mental health of school leaders states that:

"The proposed new report card is not fit for purpose. Heads have had enough of this blunt approach!”  

The brutal reality is that if this is Ofsted’s solution, supported by the Secretary of State for Education, then Headrest believes that they have not remotely grasped the problem. 

Let us remind ourselves what that reality is: 

• A 2024 NEU poll found that 72% of teachers have considered leaving teaching because of the pressure Ofsted put on their mental health.
• The same poll found 98% of teachers say that preparing for and undergoing Ofsted inspections has a negative impact on staff wellbeing and mental health.
• An NAHT poll in 2025 found 93% of school leaders in England do not have confidence in Ofsted to design a new inspection system.

There is nothing in this report card proposal that leads Headrest to believe these horrendous figures will be changed for the better. 

In many ways the proposals just reaffirm that Ofsted, and conceivably the Secretary of State, do not properly grasp the scale of reform that is needed to ensure that school staff wellbeing and mental health is not further undermined by an oppressive inspectorial system. 

That said a survey cannot capture the individual impact of overbearing inspection. 

At Headrest we have received numerous calls from school leaders who have contemplated leaving their post after an Ofsted inspection. 

We have received calls from successful school leaders opting to take early retirement rather than face another Ofsted inspection. 

As an organisation we have had to persuade colleagues to seek support for mental health, in many instances, because of school inspection pushing them to breaking point. 

We have talked to school leaders who contemplated undertaking acts of self-harm or worse following an Ofsted inspection. 

We have ended telephone calls fearful that the individual with whom we have been talking might take that final desperate decision to end their own life as the result of school inspection. 

These are real people being pushed over the edge by a draconian school inspection system where the mantra of accountability has trampled over the humanity of caring for those who work within our schools. 

It is inconceivable to Headrest that after the tragic death of Ruth Perry the HMCI and Secretary of State can be so obdurate in their reluctance to recognise that repackaging a system that does such harm is, to use an Ofsted grade descriptor, “inadequate.” 

The Secretary of State seemed to relish that her advocacy of the report card proposal proved she could not be deemed “in hock” to the unions. 

We would gently say that if another tragedy strikes that comment may well look decidedly crass. The system needs reform and what is being offered is a cosmetic makeover. 

The Headrest team say to both the HMCI and the Secretary of State that this is not good enough. It might not be easy to devise a system of effective accountability that also pays due regard to the wellbeing and mental health of school staff. 

However, because something is difficult it is simply not a good enough reason to opt for the status quo. That is not leadership but an abdication of the duty of care national policymakers should have to those who work in our schools. In short, it is merely an act of “lip service.”

(Pete Crockett is a former special school headteacher. )

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