Ofsted experiences: performing inspection and suicidal ideations.
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| Title: | Ofsted experiences: performing inspection and suicidal ideations. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Harding, Rachel1 (AUTHOR) Rachel.Harding@ntu.ac.uk, Clapham, Andrew1 (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Journal of Education Policy. May2026, Vol. 41 Issue 3, p396-416. 21p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Educational standards, *Education policy, *School inspections (Educational quality), *Mental health education, Suicidal ideation, Job stress |
| Geographic Terms: | England |
| Company/Entity: | Great Britain. Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services & Skills (England) , Great Britain. Dept. for Education |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we examine people's experiences of Ofsted, the state school inspectorate in England. From thematic analysis of the 233 written submissions published by the Education Committee Parliamentary Inquiry into Ofsted, we argue that the inspectorate can lead to teachers experiencing suicidal ideation (suicidal thoughts and feelings). Our analysis suggests 229 submissions (98%) contained negative comments about Ofsted, including accounts of teacher suicidal ideation. Whilst attempting to perform for Ofsted, teachers experience a 'disturbed' working environment leading to, for some, suicidal ideation. Consequently, rather than inspections and the inspectorate being simply performative, we contend they are performatively harmful, potentially putting children at risk. Drawing on Durkheim's theory of anomic and fatalistic suicide, we argue teacher suicidal ideation is an urgent issue, for which Ofsted and the Department for Education have responsibility. We conclude Ofsted and the government's responses to the concerns of the submissions to be far from adequate since the substantive criticisms about how the inspectorate operates and inspections are conducted remain unresolved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Journal of Education Policy is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 192954214 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Ofsted experiences: performing inspection and suicidal ideations. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Harding%2C+Rachel%22">Harding, Rachel</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> Rachel.Harding@ntu.ac.uk</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Clapham%2C+Andrew%22">Clapham, Andrew</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR) – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Education+Policy%22">Journal of Education Policy</searchLink>. May2026, Vol. 41 Issue 3, p396-416. 21p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+standards%22">Educational standards</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Education+policy%22">Education policy</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22School+inspections+%28Educational+quality%29%22">School inspections (Educational quality)</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mental+health+education%22">Mental health education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Suicidal+ideation%22">Suicidal ideation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Job+stress%22">Job stress</searchLink> – Name: SubjectGeographic Label: Geographic Terms Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22England%22">England</searchLink> – Name: SubjectCompany Label: Company/Entity Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Great+Britain%2E+Office+for+Standards+in+Education%2C+Children's+Services+%26+Skills+%28England%29%22">Great Britain. Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services & Skills (England)</searchLink> <br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Great+Britain%2E+Dept%2E+for+Education%22">Great Britain. Dept. for Education</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: In this paper, we examine people's experiences of Ofsted, the state school inspectorate in England. From thematic analysis of the 233 written submissions published by the Education Committee Parliamentary Inquiry into Ofsted, we argue that the inspectorate can lead to teachers experiencing suicidal ideation (suicidal thoughts and feelings). Our analysis suggests 229 submissions (98%) contained negative comments about Ofsted, including accounts of teacher suicidal ideation. Whilst attempting to perform for Ofsted, teachers experience a 'disturbed' working environment leading to, for some, suicidal ideation. Consequently, rather than inspections and the inspectorate being simply performative, we contend they are performatively harmful, potentially putting children at risk. Drawing on Durkheim's theory of anomic and fatalistic suicide, we argue teacher suicidal ideation is an urgent issue, for which Ofsted and the Department for Education have responsibility. We conclude Ofsted and the government's responses to the concerns of the submissions to be far from adequate since the substantive criticisms about how the inspectorate operates and inspections are conducted remain unresolved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Education Policy is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=ehh&AN=192954214 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1080/02680939.2026.2622958 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 21 StartPage: 396 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Educational standards Type: general – SubjectFull: Education policy Type: general – SubjectFull: School inspections (Educational quality) Type: general – SubjectFull: Mental health education Type: general – SubjectFull: Suicidal ideation Type: general – SubjectFull: Job stress Type: general – SubjectFull: England Type: general – SubjectFull: Great Britain. Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services & Skills (England) Type: general – SubjectFull: Great Britain. Dept. for Education Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Ofsted experiences: performing inspection and suicidal ideations. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Harding, Rachel – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Clapham, Andrew IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 05 Text: May2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 02680939 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 41 – Type: issue Value: 3 Titles: – TitleFull: Journal of Education Policy Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
