The Department for Education, in its response to that report, said ministers “would continue to listen to views and look at alternative systems”.
However, it added: “There are significant benefits from having an Ofsted overall effectiveness grade.
“In our view, the priority is to look for ways to improve the current system rather than developing an alternative to it.”
It said such improvements could include how Ofsted findings are presented and highlighting more detail that underpins the summary grade.
But Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “The problem is not presentational, it is that the system is fundamentally flawed and must change.”
He said the government’s response came “despite all the evidence that these single-phrase judgements are the source of sky-high stress and anxiety, damaging the wellbeing of leaders and teachers, sapping morale and causing many people to leave the profession”.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the school leaders’ union, the NAHT, said the government had defended “an inhumane and unreliable inspection system that is driving a mental health and wellbeing crisis across England’s schools”.
“We cannot rule out something awful happening again in future if the inspectorate does not change,” he added, referring to Mrs Perry’s death in January 2023.
