England to overhaul school inspections for second time in a year after complaints

England's education secretary, Lucy Powell, is set to order a fresh overhaul of school inspections, less than a year after the system was last reformed, following a wave of complaints that the current framework is dangerously stressful for teachers.

Powell plans to instruct the schools regulator Ofsted, which rates schools across six areas from "exceptional" to needing "urgent improvement," to reconsider how it works. Sources say she does not want to scrap the ratings model itself, but wants inspectors to give far greater weight to the social and economic circumstances of each school and its pupils.

The area causing the most difficulty, according to sources, is how inspectors measure inclusion. The coming changes mark a significant shift away from the approach introduced about a year ago by Powell's predecessor, Bridget Phillipson, which replaced Ofsted's old "outstanding" to "inadequate" grading scale.

Teacher complaints and research findings

Teaching unions and school leaders have reported heightened stress compared with the previous system. A survey of National Education Union members found two-thirds rated the new framework as bad as or worse than its predecessor, while three-quarters said it had negatively affected their mental health.

An analysis by former Ofsted inspector Steve Wren found that schools with higher proportions of pupils receiving free school meals, a key measure of poverty, or with special educational needs, tend to receive lower ratings than average. Wren also found that secondary school ratings closely tracked pupils' attainment before they joined the school, suggesting inspectors may not be properly accounting for the progress schools actually achieve.

The previous inspection framework was replaced following the death of headteacher Ruth Perry. Her sister said last month she had been contacted by more than a dozen teachers who felt suicidal because of Ofsted inspections. Ofsted declined to comment but has commissioned an independent evaluation of the current system, with an interim report expected later this year.

Unions have called for teachers to be given urgent relief from the current regime, with some groups pushing for Ofsted to stop grading schools altogether. Powell is expected to communicate the planned changes to Ofsted in the coming weeks.