A headteachers’ union is to consult members about possible industrial action after a high court judge dismissed its attempt to challenge Ofsted’s new inspection regime for schools in England.
The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) sought permission to apply for a judicial review, claiming the schools’ watchdog failed to adequately consult on the new framework or give proper consideration to the serious negative impact on teachers’ wellbeing.
On Monday, however, Mr Justice Saini, sitting at the high court in London, refused the union permission to apply for a judicial review, ruling there was “no arguable error” in the consultation process.
Ofsted made its decision in a “procedural and lawful way, and after a careful assessment of the various views expressed to it”, the judge concluded and ordered the claimants to pay £40,000 of Ofsted’s legal costs. The new inspection framework will launch on 10 November as planned.
The NAHT had asked the judge to temporarily suspend the rollout of the new grading system, pending a full hearing of the challenge. Saini said he would have refused an interim injunction on public interest grounds “had the issue arisen”.
The schools inspectorate has been embroiled in controversy since the 2023 death by suicide of the Reading headteacher Ruth Perry, with a coroner finding that an Ofsted inspection contributed to her death.
It prompted the scrapping of controversial one-word overall judgments, such as “outstanding” or “inadequate”. After a lengthy consultation that drew 6,500 responses, Ofsted came up with a new colour-coded “report card”, which grades six inspection areas on a five-point scale.
The NAHT’s general secretary, Paul Whiteman, said the union was considering an appeal. “It is disappointing that the decision today was made to decline our request for a judicial review, but this case was always being brought forward on a very narrow point of law relating to the validity of Ofsted’s consultation process for their new framework.
He added: “The decision today doesn’t detract from our valid and reasonable concern about the damage to the mental health and wellbeing of school leaders and staff of the new report cards.
“Both Ofsted and the government have failed to address the very real risk posed by the new framework to school leaders. It is a fundamental responsibility of a trade union to protect its members. We will now consider an appeal and will be consulting our members about the possibility of moving to industrial action.”
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The court heard that the NAHT and other education unions favoured a “narrative-only” approach to inspection due to concerns about the impact of high-stakes graded assessments on teacher wellbeing. Parents and carers, however, preferred some form of grading or scaling. Ofsted hopes to have combined both.
Welcoming the judge’s decision, the chief inspector of schools, Martyn Oliver, said: “The changes will be better for parents, giving them more detailed and useful information about their child’s school, nursery or college. And, crucially, they will be better for children and older learners – helping to raise standards of education for all, particularly those who are disadvantaged or vulnerable.
“I have every confidence that headteachers will recognise the changes are fair, that inspection takes staff wellbeing fully into account, and that the whole experience is collaborative and constructive. We will continue to engage constructively with all representative bodies as we roll out our reforms.”
