Whilst hotly contested from within the organisation, Ofsted, the English school inspectorate, are often blamed for creating a toxic work-culture in English schools. But to what extent does Ofsted contribute to England’s worsening teacher retention crisis? This paper draws upon data from the ‘Beyond Ofsted’ research project, where a survey, focus groups and stakeholder consultations aimed to find out teachers’ opinions of Ofsted and what alternatives could be suggested. The finding of this report (Perryman et al 2023) suggested that many teachers thought of Ofsted as ‘toxic’ and ‘not fit for purpose’. In addition, survey results show how impactful inspection can be for teachers’ health, wellbeing and career plans. For example, 30% of the sample said that inspection made them want to leave teaching, and 76% thought that Ofsted had a negative effect on retention. But are Ofsted to blame? Teachers’ working lives increasingly affected by the rise in the neo-liberal performativity /accountability culture in schools as, internationally, schools are preoccupied with policies of achievement, particularly test results. The global rise in accountability mechanisms is increasingly accepted as a natural part of the neo-liberal education system, with any critics of the regime seen as being against progress. This has led many schools to adopt a plethora of strategies aimed at improving results, often referred to as ‘box-ticking’. Teachers’ work is directed towards assessment, exams, progress measures and preparation for review and inspection, and away from the more individualistic and creative aspects of the job. These strategies, and their constancy, impact negatively on teachers’ lives, and thus on retention. But such trends are found in many countries adopting a neoliberal education policy environment. The Beyond Ofsted data shows that, in England, the problem is exacerbated by the surveillance of these performative-accountability regimes. Previous research suggests that Ofsted impacts negatively on the health and well-being of staff and thus impacts teacher retention (Bousted, 2022; Perryman, 2022) and Ofsted’s own survey on the wellbeing of teachers (Ofsted, 2019), reported that the demands of inspection heavily influenced teachers’ working practices. Teachers worked a 50–57-hour week, over half of which was spent outside the classroom, on Ofsted preparation meetings, and data-focused tasks. Our paper poses the question as to whether Ofsted is to blame for these trends and increasing teacher attrition, or whether the blame lies in policy or school cultures that place value on judgement and competitive engagement over education and well-being.

Bousted, M. (2022). Support Not Surveillance: How to solve the teacher retention crisis. Melton: John Catt. Ofsted. (2019). Teacher well-being at work in schools and further education providers. Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teacher-well-being-at-work-in-schools- and-further-education-providers Perryman, J. (2022). Teacher retention in an age of Performative Accountability: Target Culture and the Discourse of Disappointment. London: Routledge. Perryman, J., Bradbury, A., Calvert, G., & Kilian, K. (2023). Beyond Ofsted Inquiry: Final Report.