OFSTED is still putting pressure on dedicated teachers to the “point of destruction,” a headteachers’ union leader warned today.

National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) general secretary Paul Whiteman said that he is “mad as hell” that lives remain at “unnecessary risk” after the schools’ inspectorate replaced single-word report summaries with a report cards system in November.

In his speech to NAHT’s annual conference in Belfast, he said: “Ofsted does not raise standards, nor does it serve children. You do.”

He slammed claims that “anyone who wants a different approach to inspection wants to lower the bar” as “poppycock,” adding: “Inspection should not be about pressurising dedicated professionals to the point of destruction.”

Mr Whiteman warned that rising prices and school running costs meant he was “not convinced” the government’s plans for sweeping reforms for special educational needs and disabilities will be realistic under current levels of funding.

He also criticised the “politics of hate and division at work across the world,” saying teachers and school leaders are being cast “as the enemy” for challenging those who seek to increase societal divisions.

Headteacher Ruth Perry took her own life in 2023 after an Ofsted report downgraded her primary school from its highest rating to its lowest over safeguarding concerns. An inquest into her death found the inspection was a contributory factor.

Following a consultation, Ofsted’s single word judgements were replaced with report cards that give schools one of five grades on a number of areas.

While Mr Whiteman welcomed Ofsted agreeing to monitor the impact of the new inspection system on headteachers’ mental health, 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.

“I say, the education establishment is on notice. On notice that these risks are entirely foreseeable and avoidable. The responsibility for further harm or, God forbid, tragedy, is yours and yours alone.”

Teaching unions have raised concerns the new system will continue to put the mental health of school leaders at risk. An NAHT bid to launch a legal challenge to the new system has been dismissed at the High Court.