Almost nine in 10 schools warn Ofsted inspections are having a negative impact on staff wellbeing, according to a study commissioned by the watchdog to evaluate its renewed framework. Ofsted commissioned IFF Research to carry out an independent evaluation of its new education inspection framework (EIF), for schools, early years settings, and FE colleges. A summary of interim findings published today gives the broadest look so far at how providers are finding “report card” inspections, introduced late last year. The full report is due next year. Ofsted chief inspector Martyn Oliver said it shows the watchdog is “on the right track”, sparking backlash from unions, who branded the findings “damning” and Oliver “out of touch”. Education secretary Lucy Powell is understood to be planning to make changes at Ofsted within the next few months, though details are yet to be confirmed. The new findings are based on surveys of 699 education providers inspected between January and May, and focus groups and interviews with around 80 providers. Just over 250 schools took part, representing around 23 per cent of those inspected during the period. Wellbeing concerns Eighty-eight per cent of surveyed schools said their inspection had negatively affected their, or their staff’s wellbeing, with half reporting a significant impact. Twenty-nine per cent said wellbeing was negatively affected “a lot”, and 18 per cent “a fair amount”. A further 18 per cent said it was “somewhat” negatively affected and 23 per cent “a little”. Just 11 per cent said wellbeing was not negatively affected. Following the death of Caversham Primary School headteacher Ruth Perry, and a coroner’s ruling an Ofsted inspection had contributed to her death, the watchdog introduced mental health training for all inspectors, among a raft of other measures aimed to improve wellbeing. But just 62 per cent of schools said inspectors had taken actions to minimise stress and anxiety during their inspection, the report found. Of these, only 45 per cent said the measures reduced stress and anxiety a fair amount or a lot. Workload not manageable Half of schools said their inspection caused an unmanageable level of workload. The report said “schools, and especially smaller schools reported that the workload…was a challenge”. No data has been provided on how the providers that took part in the survey were graded by inspectors, or on the levels of disadvantage of schools that took part. The report said education providers overall “were generally positive about their inspection experience”. An Ofsted press release highlighted that 88 per cent of all providers said inspections had been conducted respectfully, while more than six in 10 said their inspection would help improve their setting. Oliver described reducing pressure on education leaders while upholding high standards for children as a “delicate balancing act”. “The data published today shows that we are on the right track,” he said. He acknowledged workload and wellbeing “continue to be challenging”, adding: “I don’t take that lightly. We will keep listening to feedback from professionals and parents alike as we continue to improve what we do.” Ofsted has said it plans to makes changes in response to the report. Union outrage But schools reported less positive experiences than other providers, and union bosses renewed calls for government to review the inspection system. NAHT general secretary Paul Whiteman accused Ofsted of “trying to put a positive spin on a truly terrible situation”. “The evidence is clear that the framework is still creating unacceptable levels of pressure, workload and stress,” he said, describing the report as “a damning indictment”. That 88 per cent of leaders reported negative wellbeing impacts is “simply unacceptable”, said Whiteman. “Given the events that prompted calls for reform of the inspection system, that figure should stop everyone in their tracks.” He called for graded inspections to be halted immediately and replaced with “a more constructive approach”. Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of leaders’ union ASCL, agreed the wellbeing findings “should be ringing alarm bells”. He said leaders “fully accept the need for an independent inspection system which provides information and assurance to parents”, but that this “should never be at the expense of the wellbeing of our education workforce”. “Ofsted has not done nearly enough to address this issue and we call upon the government to intervene and conduct a review of the inspection system.” NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede said the new inspection framework has “in many respects has worsened”. “Workload has increased. The sense of dread remains,” he said. Schools faring worst IFF Research’s 10-page report gave only a summary of findings so far, and not all were broken down by provider type. It said education providers “were generally positive about their inspection experience”, but noted “some difference in the overall positive views between remits”. Where responses were broken down by setting type, schools consistently reported more negative experiences than others. While 74 per cent of all providers said inspectors sought to understand and take account of their setting’s unique context, this fell to just two-thirds (65 per cent) of schools, and 47 per cent of secondaries. “This suggests providers are recognising the efforts made to consider context, but that these efforts are not consistently successful,” said the report. This has been a consistent criticism of the new framework. Ofsted previously admitted a link between higher levels of pupil deprivation and lower ‘achievement’ judgments. It introduced a new “similar schools” model in September, in a bid to take better account of school contexts. Collaborative The report said education providers were overall “positive about the collaborative nature” of inspections, but this was also less true for schools. Among schools, 69 per cent agreed inspectors “worked collaboratively with them to identify areas for development or priorities for improvement”. This compared to 72 per cent of early years settings, and 86 per cent of colleges. Elsewhere, providers were generally positive about Ofsted’s “secure fit” model for grading, with 61 per cent saying it provided transparency for how grading decisions were made. But this data was not broken down by provider type. Across all providers, 47 per cent said benefits of their inspection outweighed any negative elements. Schools-specific data was not given.