UCU condemns new Ofsted report card system

The changes confirm the removal of the single overall effectiveness grade, replacing it with a report card outlining grades across individual areas. 

UCU criticised the proposals during Ofsted's consultation, warning that judging staff against a wider set of criteria will only exacerbate existing workload concerns and raise serious questions about the validity of inspections. In a separate report published last year, Ofsted: a culture of fear and anxiety, UCU highlighted the impact on staff and harms of the inspection process. The Government and Ofsted have failed to address the concerns raised by the sector. 

The union is calling for a fundamental rethink and a move towards a supportive accountability framework designed in collaboration with staff. UCU continues to call for Ofsted inspections to be scrapped entirely and replaced with a system that values professional judgement and staff wellbeing. 

UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: 'These changes will do nothing to reduce the fear, stress and workload burdens that Ofsted inspections create. If anything, this new report card system makes things worse by introducing more areas for staff to be judged on and entrenches a flawed model. The government must now listen to staff and scrap the current system in favour of a new approach that supports rather than punishes.'