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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Richard Adams Education editor

Headteachers threaten strike ballots after losing confidence in Ofsted

A man dressed in a shirt and tie with an Ofsted lanyard appears to be compiling a report using a pen and clipboard.
An Ofsted spokesperson said it would ‘keep listening to feedback from professionals as we continue to improve’. Photograph: Russell Hart/Alamy

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.

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