This week, scientists discovered that your nose gets colder when you’re under stress. 

If that’s true, there must be a legion of icy-nosed school leaders across the country right now, bracing themselves for November and the looming shadow of Ofsted. 

I’ve been a headteacher for over twenty years, leading schools across the south of England. I’m also Chair of the Somerset Association of Primary Headteachers (SAPH), Co-Branch Secretary of the NAHT (and yes, these are my views), and author of Lessons from the Head’s Office. I’ve seen the system from every angle, leadership, collaboration, policy and I can tell you this: the emotional toll of inspection is only ever ignored by those who don’t have to lead through it. 

The pressure doesn’t just land on staff; it crashes onto leaders who carry the weight of safeguarding, accountability, and school culture on their shoulders every single day. 

The tragic death of Ruth Perry brought this into sharp focus. But let’s be honest: the pressure has been building for decades. Ruth’s story isn’t an anomaly. It’s a national tragedy that must not be ignored, especially by Ofsted who currently seem to want to push it under the carpet. 

A System That’s Lost Its Way 

We keep talking about Ofsted as though it’s a neutral force of nature. It’s not. 

It’s a man-made system that may have begun with good intentions, but has become a blunt instrument. Yes, accountability matters. Yes, schools need a challenge. But must it always come at the cost of our wellbeing, our leadership and, at times, our physical health? 

In Somerset, SAPH ran a wellbeing survey last week. Out of 41 headteachers, 100% expressed concern about increased workload under the new framework. Over half were very concerned. 

These aren’t inexperienced leaders. They’re exceptional, experienced heads many leading outstanding (not Ofsted’s wording) schools, all saying the same thing.  

When asked about anxiety, 67.5% said they were very concerned about the impact on their mental health. And again, 100% said it would impact their anxiety. 

That’s not a few disgruntled voices. 

Yet national leadership continues to act as if it’s business as usual. 

A Rebrand, Not a Reform 

The new framework? 

A five-point scale that still wields high-stakes consequences. Vague language that invites inconsistency. Ever-growing piles of paperwork, especially crushing for small schools with no extra capacity. 

Attendance. Behaviour. Inclusion. Each one is a trigger for fear, particularly in underfunded areas where leaders are punished for systemic failings they can’t control (SEND anyone?). 

And as pressure mounts, the corporate sector circles ready to sell the next shiny “Ofsted-ready” toolkit. 

Snake oil, dressed up as school improvement. 

Let’s be honest: there are no quick fixes. You don’t survive inspection with a checklist or a colour-coded spreadsheet (Though I do like a color-coded spreadsheet!). You survive through leadership and action through knowing your people, your context, and your values and being consistent in the solution. Everything else is theatre. 

What Leaders Really Need 

When we asked headteachers what they need, the answers were clear: 

  • Someone who ‘listens to me’. 
  • Someone who recognises progress and the journey – not idealistic perfection. 
  • Consistency in inspection practice. 
  • Realistic expectations, someone who understands that context is not an excuse. 
  • Mental health support. 

Not more paperwork. Not more pressure. Not more performative accountability dressed up as improvement. 

Many years ago as a National Leader of Education, I learned something important: almost every so-called “failing” school wasn’t failing at all. 

It was exhausted. Demoralised. Broken by external judgment. 

When trust and stability returned, transformation followed. But you don’t get that from a two-day visit and a tick-box report. You get it from sustained, relational leadership; something our accountability system actively undermines. 

Ofsted doesn’t build that. We do. 

Trust, Not Terror 

Our SAPH survey included calls for structural reform: gap days between inspection visits, local authority backing around SEND, even scrapping Ofsted altogether. 

But above all, leaders asked for one thing — trust. 

A system that values professional expertise over compliance. That supports improvement, rather than inspecting people into silence and fear. 

Because when fear governs, honesty dies. And that’s the real cost of compliance. 

Fragmented and Fearful 

We’ve become too fragmented as a profession. Too isolated. Too used to working in the shadows, whispering frustrations instead of acting together. 

When something as damaging as Ofsted begins to dictate how we behave as leaders; how we talk to staff, how we write policies, even how we think, then it’s time to stop complying and start challenging. 

We need to remember that we are not powerless. 

We are professionals with expertise, evidence, and a moral duty to speak truth to power. 

We have spent years building systems of support, unions, local associations, collaborative networks but we rarely use them to their full strength. I believe it’s time to do so – and I do not mean striking (I don’t believe in that… Though I’ve never been closer to giving in). 

What Happens Next 

So where do we go from here? 

We speak up. Locally. Regionally. Nationally. 

Through our unions. Through our professional associations. Through every channel still committed to integrity over image. 

If national leadership won’t listen, then we must become impossible to ignore. 

Because if we don’t, we will keep losing great leaders to burnout, fear, despair – or worse. We cannot allow that to happen. 

We’ll keep pretending that compliance is professionalism, that exhaustion is dedication, that silence is strength. 

It isn’t. 

We know the system is broken. We know what needs to change. And we know that no one is coming to save us. 

So let’s do what we tell our pupils to do every day: stand up, speak out, and work together. 

Because the future of our schools — and the wellbeing of those who lead them — depends on it.