The NAHT leaders’ union has lost its appeal against a decision by the High Court to throw out its legal challenge to new Ofsted inspections.
The union filed a claim for judicial review at the High Court in May, warning members feared the increase in the number of sub-judgments under new report cards “will only increase high-stakes accountability and pressure”.
The new inspections, which began this month with volunteer schools, involve settings being judged with one of five grades in up to eight judgment areas.
The union opposed the report card proposals on legal grounds, “arguing that adequate consultation has not been conducted regarding the plan for a new five-point scale to grade schools”.
Its action was supported by the National Education Union and ASCL leaders’ union.
But earlier this month the High Court denied the NAHT permission for a judicial review,
At the time, the Honourable Mr Justice Saini said “the merits of Ofsted’s report card grading system” and “its approach to the well-being issues raised, are not matters for this court”.
He said a judicial review court must ensure a public body “acts in accordance with the standards of procedural fairness the law requires, including not predetermining the outcome before consultation”.
“In my judgment. There was no arguable error on these matters.”
‘Drop talk of further action,’ says Ofsted
The NAHT appealed against that ruling, but found out this week it had lost.
General secretary Paul Whiteman said: “We are disappointed with the outcome of the appeal.
“We will now explore all our options, including any further legal challenges and industrial action. The health and safety of our members must not be compromised by the recklessness of the inspectorate and the government.”
An Ofsted spokesperson said: “We welcome the Court of Appeal’s confirmation that our consultation was fair.
“We hope talk of further legal or industrial action will be dropped, so that we can return to working constructively with NAHT, as we have always sought to.”
ASCL says leaders report ‘massive’ demands
It comes as ASCL warned that based on feedback from its members, it was “clear that far from reducing workloads, the renewed framework is increasing the burden on senior staff.
In a blog, the union’s inspection and accountability specialist Andy Jordan, said that while the approach “feels more collaborative” and an increased focus on context had been “well-received”, there were a “range of concerns which leaders have raised with us and that we have passed on to Ofsted”.
“One school leader told me that the demands ‘were massive’ and another said that when inspectors left at 5pm on day one, senior leadership team members still had several hours of work to complete.”
He raised a particular concern about “case sampling – where Ofsted looks at a selection of six pupils with specific needs”.
Jordan said the “arbitrary nature of selecting six students – whether the school has a cohort of 25 or 1,500 – seems disproportionate”.
He added that one leader had told him the “conclusions drawn as a result of the experiences of six pupils may not truly reflect provision across the institution and could lead to skewed assumptions”.
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