Headteachers threaten strike ballots after losing confidence in Ofsted

Unions tell government to fix ‘overbearing mess’ of inspection regime and its impact on staff wellbeing – or risk industrial action

Tensions between England’s headteachers and Ofsted are developing into a crisis after school leadership unions said they had no confidence in the watchdog and would hold strike ballots unless “significant wellbeing issues” caused by Ofsted’s inspections regime were fixed.

The Association of School and College Leaders​ (ASCL), which includes senior leaders in many secondary schools, described Ofsted’s inspection system as “an overbearing mess” and urged the government to pause inspections to stop teachers leaving the profession.