Accountability and its negative effects on teachers’ working lives and retention is internationally recognised as a problem in education (Buchanan, 2015; Holloway, Sørensen, & Verger, 2017; Teltemann & Jude, 2019), with school evaluation and inspection being a particular issue. Teachers’ working lives are being increasingly affected by the rise in the neo-liberal performativity / accountability culture in schools, as internationally, schools are increasingly preoccupied with policies of achievement, particularly test results. This has led many schools to adopt a results-driven approach, with a plethora of strategies aimed at improving results. This is evidenced by what is commonly referred to as ‘box-ticking’, as teachers’ work is increasingly directed towards assessment, exams, progress measures and preparation for review and inspection, and away from the more individualistic and creative aspects of the job (Perryman 2022).

A performative accountability culture can particularly affect the agency of headteachers, as Evans (2001:151) explains: ‘At the same time as heads are being trained for leadership and vision and a mission for the school, they are simultaneously in receipt of education policies that are extremely instrumental and interrupt their own agency as head’. In England, the inspection regime Ofsted is seen as placing a particular pressure on Headteachers. Page (2017:5) writes ‘with Ofsted giving almost no notice of inspection, head teachers commit to continual Ofsted-readiness within their schools, a perpetual state of inspection anxiety that aims for good-or-outstanding practice throughout every day, every week and every year’. Ball et al (2012) found that senior management employed techniques such as ‘learning walks’, training and observation to improve teaching and learning and ensure a state of perpetual inspection-readiness. This shows how inspection creates ‘a marvellous machine’ (Foucault, 1977:202) in the quest for constant improvement. Courtney agrees, particularly with the effects on leadership; ‘Compliance is woven so tightly into the regime’s fabric that head teachers are unaware that performance ‘on the day’ is thereby replaced by a longer-lasting and more deeply affecting fabrication. Thus rather than being controlled and disciplined externally, senior leaders and teachers position themselves in particular ways to change their behaviour and practices in order to ‘fit’ the system, and adapt to changing policy contexts such as changing inspection frameworks’ which is ‘the self working on the self, the self shaping its own conduct’ (Gillies, 2013:79). These studies relate to the effect of Ofsted on Headteacher agency between inspections, but during inspections the pressure intensifies as they are held accountable for the performance of their school and can face dismissal if there is a negative outcome. Leaders of smaller schools, who may be more isolated, are particularly vulnerable and more frequently seek support (Headrest, 2023). In December 2023 a government inquiry concluded that Ofsted had ‘contributed’ to the death of a Headteacher, Ruth Perry, who had committed suicide whilst awaiting publication of an inspection report downgrading her previously ‘outstanding’ school to ‘requires improvement’ (Clarke, 2023).

This paper examines data from a recent research project ‘Beyond Ofsted’ (2023). This was an Inquiry commissioned by the National Education Union. The scope of the Inquiry centred around answering the key question of what a better inspection system in England could look like. Underlying this, we wanted to find out what the principles that make a good inspection system are, and how these translate into inspection processes and practice. One of the main themes of the data was the particular impact of inspection on Headteachers, which this paper will explore, with our reserch question being 'What is the effect of inspection on headteachers in England'.

To answer the central questions, the Inquiry needed to understand key changes to school inspection in England over time; strengths and weaknesses of the current approach; how inspection operates at school level; and the impact on the culture and ways of working of a school. To inform an alternative, the Inquiry sought to identify the factors within the inspection system that contribute to its strengths and weaknesses, and the changes needed to address the negative or ‘unintended consequences’ identified. In terms of scope, the Inquiry primarily looked at inspection in primary and secondary schools in England, and the extent to which these differed. It also explored the specific impacts of inspection on schools serving the most disadvantaged pupils. The international literature was explored, to gather evidence on how inspection systems operate in other countries. The review of international systems examined how inspection systems in high performing education nations operate differently from England, the role of accountability and school improvement in these models, and how any positive outcomes from different models could be used to inform an alternative approach to inspection in England. The Inquiry engaged closely with the education profession, asking questions about the principles they think are needed to underpin a better inspection system, and potential solutions they see as being effective in tackling the problems they identify. It also explored how parents/carers and governors interact with the current inspection system; how they feel about, and understand, school inspection; and what they want to see changed. We took a mixed methods approach, involving a large-scale survey of teachers and school leaders, supplemented by focus groups with teachers, parents/carers, governors, and 5 with headteachers. The aim was to gather a wide range of views on both the current system and potential alternatives. The survey had over 6,000 responses and produced both quantitative and qualitative data. Headteachers made up 15% of our sample. Descriptive and inferential analyses of the quantitative data were carried out using Qualtrics inbuilt tool set, utilising the relate function to explore differences between groups. This function performed Chi and ANOVA analyses producing a p value and an effect size. The inclusion of open questions resulted in over 500,000 words of written responses. These were analysed thematically, based on the key aims of the inquiry. The twelve focus groups were analysed in a similar manner.

The research conducted for the Inquiry took place in the weeks and months after Ruth Perry’s death and it is perhaps unsurprising that concerns about this issue are foremost in the data and throughout the report. One of questions we asked was if participants thought that their role in school affected how they experienced inspection, and 70% agreed that it did. Headteachers reported they felt under huge amounts of pressure, with comments such as ‘your career hangs in the balance’ and reporting being in tears and even resigning. One summed it up saying ‘The Ofsted inspection was brutal (despite the good overcome), staff were in tears. In 26 years of education this was the worst two days in my career. I felt like giving up the job. It has impacted on my wellbeing and family life’. These effects of inspection should not be tolerated by the profession. As part of the Inquiry we conducted a review of global inspection systems which indicated that alternative systems are possible (Ehren et al 2010, Hwa, 2020, NCEE, 2021, OECD, 2015 Zheng and Thomas, 2022). Seven countries in Europe do not even have any formal external inspection system (European Education Culture Executive Agency et al., 2016). There are a diverse set of inspection regimens in place internationally, ranging from none to those conducted at a distance with limited consequences to those that are intrusive and high stakes, but none more so than in England. (Grek & Lindgren, 2015) This is potentially a time of change for inspection. With a UK election in 2024 it is possible that reform may be on the agenda and it is hoped that this paper will contribute to the discussion on how changes can be made, and contribute to international policy debates on inspection, evaluation and accountability

Ball, S., Braun, A., & Maguire, M. (2012). How Schools Do Policy. London: Routledge. Beyond Ofsted Inquiry Inquiry (2023). Final Report of the Inquiry. https://beyondofsted.org.uk/ Buchanan, R. (2015). Teacher identity and agency in an era of accountability. Teachers and Teaching, 21(6), 700-719. doi:10.1080/13540602.2015.1044329 Clarke, V. (2023). Ruth Perry: Ofsted must act following head's suicide - coroner. BBC. European Education Culture Executive Agency, Eurydice, De Coster, I., Birch, P., Czort, S., Delhaxhe, A., & Colclough, O. (2016). Assuring quality in education: policies and approaches to school evaluation in Europe: Publications Office. Evans, L. (2001). Developing Teachers in a Performance Culture - is performance pay the answer? In D. Gleeson & C. Husbands (Eds.), The Performing School: Managing Teaching and Learning in a Performance Culture. London: Routledge. Foucault, M. (1977). Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison (A. Sheridan, Trans.). Harmondsworth: Penguin. Gillies, D. (2013). Educational Leadership and Michel Foucault London: Routledge. Grek, S., & Lindgren, J. (Eds.). (2015). Governing by Inspection. Abingdon: Routledge. Headrest. (2023). Annual Headteacher Wellbeing Report. Retrieved from https://www.headrestuk.co.uk/blog/headteacher-wellbeing-report-2023 Holloway, J., Sørensen, T. B., & Verger, A. (2017). Global perspectives on high-stakes teacher accountability policies: An introduction. education policy analysis archives, 25. doi:10.14507/epaa.25.3325 Hwa, Y.-Y. 2020. Contrasting approaches, comparable approaches? How macro-level trust influences teacher accountability in Finland and Singapore. In: Ehren, M. & Baxter, J. (eds.) Trust, Accountability and Capacity in Education System Reform London: Routledge. OECD 2015. Education at a Glance 2015. Page, D. (2017). The surveillance of teachers and the simulation of teaching. Journal of Education Policy, 32(1), 1-13. doi:10.1080/02680939.2016.1209566 Perryman, J. (2022). Teacher retention in an age of Performative Accountability: Target Culture and the Discourse of Disappointment. London: Routledge Teltemann, J., & Jude, N. (2019). Assessments and accountability in secondary education: International trends. Research in Comparative & International Education, 14, 249-271. Zheng, H. & Thomas, S. 2022. The challenges of school inspection practice in demonstrating and improving education quality: stakeholder perceptions in China. Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability, 34, 391-422.