MORE than nine in 10 school leaders in England do not believe Ofsted will design an effective inspection framework, with new reforms failing to go far enough, a new survey says.

Three in four members of the school leaders’ union NAHT in England said that a completely new inspection framework and methodology is needed.

The government announced Ofsted’s single-phrase inspection judgements would be scrapped in September following the tragic death of headteacher Ruth Perry, who took her own life in January 2023 after her school was set to be deemed “inadequate.”

The survey, carried out between September 23 and October 7, found that 65 per cent said they believed the removal of headline grades would help reduce inspection stress.

But 72 per cent of school leaders said they did not agree with the retention of Ofsted grades across four subcategories as an interim arrangement this year.

And three in four did not believe subgrades should be used in a future report card system, the poll found.

NAHT general secretary Paul Whiteman said: “While some of the interim measures taken last year to make inspection more humane have been a step in the right direction, they clearly do not go anywhere near far enough.

“Many of the fundamental problems with inspection remain.

“Our big fear is that the inspectorate has still not properly understood the scale of the reform required. The current system is clearly broken.

“Now is the moment for a genuinely new approach that gives parents the detailed information they need and addresses the hugely harmful impact inspections currently have on school staff,” he added.

“The upcoming consultation on the future of inspection will be absolutely crucial.”

The Department for Education was contacted for comment.