Katharine Birbalsingh warns of 'bad news for parents' as she blasts Ofsted reform is a 'nod in the wrong direction'

Previously, Ofsted awarded one of four headline grades to schools it inspects: outstanding, good, requires improvement and inadequate. It follows engagement with the sector and family of headteacher Ruth Perry after a coroner’s inquest found the Ofsted inspection process had contributed to her death.

However, Birbalsingh has hit back at the reforms, saying the school report cards that are set to be introduced from September 2025 will not improve the situation.

The headmistress wrote on social media: "This ‘report card’ will not give more clarity to parents. That’s bluster from the politicians. But hose Ofsted judgements were not necessarily accurate and made schools the victims of whimsical, or inexperienced, or tired, or poor inspectors, giving parents bad advice.

"Schools would get distracted by the race for an Ofsted judgement and would often do the wrong things, trying to please Ofsted. The assumption that the inspectors ‘know all’ and have a foolproof system is silly. They don’t. If the inspectors are so great, why aren’t they running their own school? Good heads remain as heads or executive heads.

"But abolishing judgements because of leaders ‘feeling bad’ is a nod in the wrong direction. It is an indulgence of the tyranny of 'feelings being more important than facts.' The reasoning behind the decision worries me re this Government’s future decisions. I am pro-abolishing judgements but only when accompanied by transparency as one has with the market. (sic)

"Open up the schools. Allow us in the schools when we want to visit and let us see ALL of the classrooms. Can’t do that? Well then you can’t abolish Ofsted judgements. Except they can. And they just have. Yet they haven’t opened up the schools. That’s bad news for parents and bad news for us all."

GB News has contacted the Department for Education for a comment.

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For inspections this academic year, the Department for Education (DfE) said parents will see the four grades – outstanding, good, requires improvement and inadequate – given across the existing sub-categories: quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; leadership and management.

Perry took her own life after an Ofsted report downgraded her Caversham Primary School in Reading from its highest rating to its lowest rating over safeguarding concerns. Her sister, Professor Julia Waters, said: "We are delighted and relieved that the Government has decided to take this important and long-overdue step.

"Single-word headline judgments are dangerous and reductive. They are unpopular with parents and teachers, and their simplistic impact has made the daily job of improving school standards harder for everyone except the bureaucrats.

"The shame, injustice, and high-stakes consequences of an ‘inadequate’ judgement, together with the rude and intimidating conduct of the inspection itself, were the cause of my sister’s mental deterioration and suicide."

Asked whether he was sacrificing simplicity for parents, Sir Keir Starmer told the media on a visit to a primary school in Orpington: "I’ve got a mission for our Government, which is to make sure that every single child, whatever their background, wherever they come from, has the best possible education.

"This move today is about driving up standards, making sure we’ve got a richer picture so parents can see in a more accountable way the real strength of a school and making sure we’ve got the improvements in to catch schools quickly.”

He said he was "really pleased that we’re able to do it so quickly".

Sir Keir added: "We’ll be absolutely pressing schools on standards and I don’t accept that parents will be confused. I’ve got two children in secondary education and so we have ourselves had to look at schools, and I have to say, from our point of view, the single grade didn’t work very well because we want to know what about the other areas, what about this aspect?"