Ofsted's new report card system is "actively penalising" schools more inclusive of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (Send), a headteachers' union has warned.
Analysis by the NAHT headteachers’ union of recent Ofsted inspections found one in five (20%) schools with above-average Send pupils were judged "needs attention" – the second-lowest grade – for attendance and behaviour.
This contrasts with just one in ten (9%) of schools with fewer Send pupils receiving the same assessment, the NAHT said.
The findings emerge after the government unveiled sweeping reforms to the Send system, aiming for greater inclusivity in schools.
NAHT general secretary Paul Whiteman said the findings should “ring serious alarm bells” for the Government’s ambitions for more pupils with Send to learn in mainstream schools.
The union’s analysis of 662 Ofsted reports also found that a third of schools inspected where there were an above average number of pupils eligible for free school meals received a “needs attention” grade for the report card’s achievement section, compared with less than one in five (18%) of schools with below average numbers of students eligible for free school meals.
Furthermore, the NAHT said nearly one in four (23%) schools with above average pupil eligibility for free school meals have received a “needs attention” grade for attendance and behaviour, compared with one in 10 (10%) schools with below average eligibility.
Mr Whiteman said: “For a long time there have been well-founded concerns that successive Ofsted frameworks have penalised schools serving communities with higher levels of deprivation. Rather than fix that issue, the new framework appears to have compounded it.”
Schools serving the most deprived communities face an “uphill battle”, he added.
“There is no lack of ambition on the part of school leaders – they all want every individual pupil and student to achieve the very best outcomes they are capable of. But we also have to recognise that, due to context, for some schools that is a significantly greater challenge than others,” Mr Whiteman said.
“Recognising the challenges and barriers to pupils’ progress is to engage with their lived reality. It does not signal any kind of ‘bigotry of low expectations’, as Ofsted’s HM Chief Inspector has claimed.
“Under Ofsted’s system, schools may do an incredible job in helping pupils who face all manner of challenges in their lives to progress from a poor starting point but still be marked down if overall test scores are below national averages. It’s hard to imagine anything more demoralising for leaders and teachers.
“Not only are these lower grades unfair for schools that operate in more deprived areas, they also actively penalise those that are more inclusive for pupils with Send. Furthermore, it risks discouraging leaders and teachers from going to work in the very schools that need them the most.
“This should ring serious alarm bells for the Government’s stated White Paper ambition for more pupils with Send to be educated in mainstream schools.”
The Press Association understands Ofsted will publish its own data on the first set of inspections under the new framework next month.
Cllr Amanda Hopgood, chairwoman of the Local Government Association’s children, young people and families committee, said it is vital children with Send who require support receive this in mainstream schools for the Government’s reforms to succeed.
“Ofsted’s inspection framework should place greater focus on inclusive practice and whether an individual school meets the needs of the community that it serves when inspected,” she added.
The new Ofsted report cards have been in place since November 2025. The former single word judgments were scrapped following the death of headteacher Ruth Perry.
Under the report cards, schools receive one of five grades across a number of areas. Schools do not get an overall grade.
Unions have warned the new system could be detrimental for the mental health of school staff. The NAHT had attempted to launch a legal challenge to the new system, which was dismissed at the High Court.
Ofsted chief inspector Sir Martyn Oliver has previously said Ofsted will recognise where a school is doing well despite contextual challenges, but will not downplay “disappointing outcomes”.
NAHT members will debate a motion at the union’s annual conference in Belfast calling on their executive to lobby for the Government to review performance measures for schools to make sure they support inclusion for Send children.
They will also debate a second motion which says the changes to the Ofsted inspection system have not addressed “longstanding concerns”. This motion calls on the union’s executive to explore “legal, industrial and campaigning” strategies to challenge the new system.
Ofsted was approached for comment.
UK schools in ‘desperate situation’ as headteachers report mould and asbestos
Bristol school cleared of antisemitism after postponing visit from Jewish MP
Schools across UK short of 1,400 of educational psychologists, experts warn
‘Bittersweet’ as four lives saved by eight-year-old boy’s organ donation
Cheaper to rent than buy UK homes as mortgage rates surge
What is ‘No Mow May’? The movement aiming to boost nature in UK gardens
