Ofsted chief inspector Martyn Oliver should stand down, the country’s largest teaching union has said. Daniel Kebede, the National Education Union’s general secretary, said Oliver had “lost the confidence of the profession and it is time for him to go”. It comes after the ruling council of school leaders’ union ASCL passed a vote of no confidence in Ofsted’s leadership on Friday. According to a small internal NEU poll, the union found 98 per cent of surveyed members do not have confidence in the watchdog’s current leadership. Ofsted has faced mounting pressure from teaching and leadership unions amid growing reports that inspections continue to have a negative impact on teacher and leader wellbeing. The watchdog introduced its new education inspections late last year, in a bid to reduce the pressure school staff face. Martyn Oliver But according to Ofsted’s own research, almost nine in 10 schools say the new inspections are having a negative impact on staff wellbeing. Interim findings were published on Friday. The same day, the ruling council of school leaders’ union ASCL passed a vote of no confidence in Ofsted’s leadership. The NEU surveyed almost 7,000 members in English state schools overnight on Monday. Ninety-eight per cent said they did not have confidence in the current leadership of Ofsted. The NEU has hundreds of thousands of members in England. Of those surveyed, 96 per cent supported calls for an urgent review of Ofsted’s new inspection framework, introduced late last year, and the same proportion called for an “immediate pause” on Ofsted inspections. Ofsted has acknowledged “there is more to do” on workload and wellbeing, which “remain a challenge”. It said it is working with the Department for Education on this. Education secretary Lucy Powell is understood to be planning changes at the inspectorate “within the next few months”. Details have yet to be announced. ‘Time for him to go’ Kebede said Oliver “has lost the confidence of the profession and it is time for him to go. “The pressure of Ofsted needs to be lifted immediately and Ofsted inspections should be paused while a proper review of the inspection regime takes place.” He described the NEU survey findings as “stark and overwhelming”, adding they “show a profession united in demanding change”. Kebede also accused Ofsted of having “demonstrated an inability to listen to the impact of its new framework on teachers and leaders”. “These are committed, experienced professionals who work in excess of 50 hours per week – and Ofsted continues to add to that workload.” He said the scrapping of one-word judgments in September 2024, in the wake of the death of Caversham Primary School headteacher Ruth Perry, “was meant to signal a reset and re-balancing which simply hasn’t been delivered. “Ofsted casts a huge shadow over the education system and is perpetuating a climate of fear.” An Ofsted spokesperson said: “There is a delicate balancing act at the heart of our work – we must maintain high standards in the interests of children, while at the same time doing all we can to reduce the pressure felt by heads and teachers. “We know workload and wellbeing remain a challenge and there is more to do. We are working with the Department for Education, and listening both to parents and professionals, as we continue to improve inspections.”