Ofsted has sparked a row by suggesting that schools cannot be a “silver bullet” in tackling childhood obesity.

Amanda Spielman, the education watchdog’s chief inspector, said that teachers were “already stretched” and should not have their workload increased or be distracted from their primary role as educators.

A report published by Ofsted today warns that expecting too much of schools will not solve the childhood obesity problem, and risks further increasing teacher workload.

However, it has provoked an angry response from campaigners who say Ofsted risks undermining “vital efforts that schools are making to support children to eat well”.

Research by Ofsted at 60 primary schools found “no pattern” to suggest that school-level interventions alone, such as having a kitchen on site or a member of staff leading on obesity, were linked with higher or lower levels of obesity.

Ofsted found that there were “too many factors beyond the school gate” for these interventions to have a “direct and measurable” impact on children’s weight, according to today’s report.

Ms Spielman said schools have an “important role” to play in the fight against childhood obesity, by offering high-quality PE and emphasising healthy lifestyles.

She added: “We must also recognise that schools cannot provide a silver bullet for all societal ills.

Teachers and schools ‘already stretched’

“Teachers and school leaders are already stretched; they should not be held responsible for an issue that requires concerted action across the board.

“Families, government, industry, and other parts of the public sector all have a role to play in making food and drink healthier, and supporting children to make better choices.”

Ms Spielman added: “It is essential that schools do not get distracted from their core educational purpose.

“Education for health is essential and must be done well. But this will not happen if schools are devoting time and energy to things in which they are neither expert nor likely to have an impact.”

The Ofsted report comes just weeks after the government published the second chapter of its childhood obesity strategy, which called for a united effort to halve childhood obesity by 2030.

Rob Percival of the Soil Association, accused Ofsted of “getting it completely wrong” and basing its report on “flawed methodology.”

‘Undermining vital efforts’

He said: “In publishing this report, Ofsted has flagrantly disregarded the advice of its own expert advisory panel and risks undermining the vital efforts that schools are making to support children to eat well at a time when the government is taking concerted action to tackle childhood obesity.

“Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector should be placed in ‘special measures’.

“Ofsted appears to be actively discouraging a whole-school approach to achieve healthy behaviour change and is urging schools instead to reduce their focus to classroom knowledge and skills alone.

“Behaviour change science shows that knowledge alone is not a sufficient driver for healthy behaviour.

“By contrast, a ‘whole-school approach’ that makes schools ‘healthy zones’ has been robustly evaluated by the University of the West of England and shown to have a significant impact on healthy eating behaviours.”

A report earlier this year by the Local Government Association warned that more than 20,000 children were severely obese by their last year of primary school.

Council leaders are warning that the country is facing “a multi-billion pound ill-health time bomb”.

Figures published in May show that the number of pupils who were severely obese in Year 6 in 2016-17 was almost double that of those in their Reception year.