Teachers’ leaders have warned that full Ofsted inspections of schools - set to resume from September - will create “unnecessary pressure” for staff and increase workload.

Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the NEU teaching union, said Ofsted’s plan to return to full inspections from September would be a “hindrance” for teachers.

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“It is widely accepted that education recovery is not a one-term effort, and so we believe that by September, Ofsted inspections will still be an unnecessary pressure on staff who must be allowed to concentrate on this vital work,” he said.

Fears about Ofsted impact on teacher workload

“Worse, inspections would constitute a hindrance, particularly as the intention is to revert to using the Education Inspection Framework.

“We have long warned that this framework is extremely difficult for primary schools and will force more schools to take their focus away from the needs of the children they teach and towards a rigid view of curriculum.

“It is all too clear that, in its efforts to appear relevant, Ofsted will simply redouble the negative consequences of inspections on teacher and school leader workload.” 

Earlier today, Ofsted announced that it would inspect schools and colleges on-site next term “to provide reassurance about how well children and learners are catching up” but that the inspections would be “lighter touch”, with a full programme of graded inspections not beginning until September. 

However, there will be exceptions for schools “where the evidence strongly suggests that a school’s current grade is no longer a fair reflection of its work”.

The inspectorate is also planning to resume initial teacher training inspections from 4 May, which providers have described as a “kick in the teeth” for a sector that has “behaved heroically” during the Covid crisis.