Ofsted’s menacing inspections are still disastrous. Schools should answer to the communities they serve | Simon Jenkins

For all the supposed improvements, inspectors still obsess over statistics and adjectives, but surely school success depends on teachers and parents

The government regulation of state schools by Ofsted in England is a fiasco. Following the 2023 suicide of the Reading headteacher Ruth Perry, after her school was downgraded from outstanding to inadequate, Ofsted appears to have referred to a dictionary. Single words were replaced by colour-coded report cards, which use a wider range of different adjectives to grade abstractions such as personal development and wellbeing, achievement and leadership. Never has the concept of “education” seemed so empty.

The reaction of the teaching profession to the new code has itself been devastating, as highlighted in a recent survey that showed more than half of headteachers in England polled after their schools were inspected under Ofsted’s new regime are now considering early retirement as a result of the experience. This sense of misery was also illustrated in a poll conducted by the National Education Union one year on from the introduction of the new framework, with 65% saying it is the same as or worse than before.

Simon Jenkins is a Guardian columnist

In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123. In the US, you can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org

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