England’s schools are bracing for a turbulent winter as the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) moves to consult its 37,000 members about possible strike action, following the High Court’s dismissal of its legal challenge against Ofsted’s new inspection regime. The union’s decision, announced on November 3, 2025, comes after months of heated debate over the watchdog’s controversial overhaul of school assessments—changes that were prompted by tragedy and have since divided opinion among educators, parents, and policymakers.
The High Court’s ruling, delivered by Mr Justice Saini in London, found that Ofsted’s decision to adopt a new, detailed report card system was reached “after a detailed consultation conducted in a procedurally lawful way.” The judge concluded there was “no arguable error” in the consultation process, despite the NAHT’s claims that the watchdog failed to adequately consult on the new framework or give proper consideration to the negative impact on teachers’ wellbeing. As a result, the union was ordered to pay £40,000 of Ofsted’s legal costs, and the new inspection system is set to launch as planned on November 10, 2025.
The new framework marks a significant shift from the previous system of single-word judgments—terms like “outstanding” or “inadequate”—which Ofsted abandoned earlier this year following the death of head teacher Ruth Perry. Perry took her own life after an Ofsted inspection downgraded her Berkshire primary school, sparking a national outcry and prompting the Labour government to order an overhaul of the inspection process. The new system replaces those single-word judgments with a colour-coded “report card” that grades schools across six areas—curriculum, early years, achievement, inclusion, leadership, personal development, and attendance—using a five-point scale: urgent improvement, needs attention, expected standard, strong standard, and exceptional. Safeguarding receives a simple pass or fail.
Ofsted’s chief inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver, has championed the changes, arguing they will “raise standards of education for all” and provide parents with “more detailed and useful information about their child’s school, nursery or college.” According to the BBC, Oliver emphasized that Ofsted had “consulted extensively” on its proposals, with 6,500 responses collected during the process. He expressed confidence that headteachers would recognize the changes as fair and collaborative, adding, “I have every confidence that headteachers will recognise the changes are fair, that inspection takes staff wellbeing fully into account, and that the whole experience is collaborative and constructive.”
However, the NAHT and other unions remain unconvinced. General secretary Paul Whiteman voiced his disappointment after the court’s decision, reiterating the union’s concerns about the mental health and wellbeing risks posed by the new framework. “The decision today doesn’t detract from our valid and reasonable concern about the damage to the mental health and wellbeing of school leaders and staff of the new report cards,” Whiteman said, as reported by The Independent. “This is an acute and basic health and safety issue recognised by an independent report commissioned by Ofsted itself which has not been dealt with at all. Both Ofsted and the Government have failed to address the very real risk posed by the new framework to school leaders.”
The union’s legal team argued in court that Ofsted’s consultation had “ruled out” the use of “narrative-only verdicts” for schools, a system favored by the NAHT and other education unions. These groups maintain that narrative-only reports—similar to those used by the Welsh inspectorate, Estyn—are better suited to safeguarding staff wellbeing by avoiding the stress associated with high-stakes graded assessments. In their submission, the NAHT stated: “Narrative-only verdicts are the correct way forward and they are the correct way of safeguarding wellbeing.”
Despite these concerns, Mr Justice Saini concluded that Ofsted was “best-placed to balance the need for some form of graded assessment with the potential for such evaluations to have negative wellbeing impacts on teachers and leaders.” He noted, “It is for Ofsted to decide how to conduct its inspections, in a way in which, in its expert judgement, is effective.” The judge further found that the consultation process was “procedural and lawful,” and that Ofsted had carefully considered the various views expressed to it, including those relating to wellbeing.
Ofsted’s barrister, Sir James Eadie KC, defended the new framework as a “considerable upgrade in terms of wellbeing,” stating that the watchdog had “considered, carefully: the wellbeing and workload implications of the five-point scale; the relative merits of the narrative approach and other grading schemes, including on wellbeing grounds; and the reforms necessary to reduce workload and promote wellbeing more generally.”
Parents, it seems, are largely in favor of the new system. A YouGov poll cited by The Independent found that almost seven out of ten parents surveyed preferred the new-look report cards to Ofsted’s previous inspection reports, suggesting a public appetite for more granular, detailed feedback about schools. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson echoed this sentiment, describing the new report cards as providing “rich, granular insight” to help deliver “tailored” support for struggling schools.
Yet, the changes have not been universally welcomed. In September, a group including Ruth Perry’s sister, Professor Julia Waters, wrote to the education secretary calling for a delay in the rollout, warning that the proposals “continue to pose a risk to the health and wellbeing of teachers and school leaders.” The NAHT, supported by the National Education Union and the Association of School and College Leaders, has repeatedly warned that the new, more complex system could increase stress and anxiety among school staff.
With the High Court’s ruling now in place, the NAHT is moving to the next stage: consulting its members about industrial action. According to Daily Mail, this could include anything from non-compliance to full strikes, with a ballot on action likely to take place in early 2026 and possible walkouts before the end of the summer term. Should headteachers strike, other unions representing classroom teachers may coordinate action, potentially leading to widespread school closures and educational disruption across England.
For now, Ofsted’s new inspection framework is set to roll out as planned on November 10. As the dust settles from the High Court battle, the education sector faces a period of uncertainty—and perhaps, before long, industrial unrest. The coming months will test whether the new system can deliver on its promise of fairer, more informative school assessments, or whether it will deepen the rift between inspectors and the educators they judge.
