Calls for an End to School Head Teacher Boasting
Head teachers at high-performing schools have been urged to stop engaging in what is described as “self-indulgent boasting” due to the pressure it places on other schools that are not performing as well. This call comes from Paul Whiteman, General Secretary of the NAHT union, which represents primarily primary school heads.
Whiteman criticized those who gloat about their Ofsted scores and also pointed out the issue of competition among head teachers to attract students. He argued that this kind of behavior leads to celebrating success at the expense of colleagues’ failures.
During a speech at the union’s annual conference in Belfast, Whiteman called on head teachers to stop defining themselves through “reductive” Ofsted inspections. This follows a year-long campaign by the NAHT against new Ofsted reforms introduced in the autumn. These reforms involve a broader range of criteria for rating schools.
The union took legal action against these changes last year, claiming they add more stress for head teachers, but this effort did not succeed. Whiteman emphasized that the pressure from inspections can be life-threatening, referencing the tragic death of head teacher Ruth Perry, who took her own life after receiving a negative Ofsted report.
Addressing delegates, he said: “I am angry, yes mad as hell, that Ofsted, the Government and the judiciary see fit to allow lives to be left at unnecessary risk right now.”
He stated that the education establishment is on notice and claimed it would bear responsibility for any further tragedy. However, he also acknowledged the need for self-reflection within the profession. “This profession has allowed itself to be defined by inspection and simplistic measures, with new ones seemingly added every day,” he added.
“We talk of collaboration but compete over falling rolls. Enjoying success at the cost of the failure of your colleagues down the road is no cause for celebration. Self-indulgent boasts of those judged exceptional, then offering advice devoid of context on how we can all do it simply does not help, it just adds to pressure. So, I say stop.”
Whiteman claimed that Ofsted’s regime demands a “single model of delivery” that “clobbers good people” regardless of “human consequences.” He suggested that school inspections should not be about pressurizing dedicated professionals to the point of destruction.
Reacting to the remarks about “boasting,” Chris McGovern, a retired headteacher who used to be an Ofsted inspector and NAHT member, said: “The union boss is a snowflake killjoy. Schools are absolutely right to celebrate success and most do so. It can be a good thing to embarrass failing schools if it forces them to improve. The real problem with Ofsted is that its grading of schools is over-generous. Facing up to this truth, rather than covering up failure, is what is in the best interests of children.”
Mrs Perry took her own life in 2023 after an Ofsted report downgraded her Caversham Primary School from its highest rating to its lowest over safeguarding concerns. An inquest into the headteacher’s death found the inspection was a contributory factor.
After Labour came to power, ministers ordered the immediate scrapping of overall single word judgements of “outstanding,” “good,” “requires improvement,” and “inadequate.” A wide-ranging overhaul followed, which unions had hoped would make teachers’ lives easier. However, the new inspection report cards are more complicated, with a wider range of criteria assessed and each area given one of five grades – with the highest being “exceptional.”
The Department for Education has been contacted. Ofsted declined to comment.
