New study highlights dangers of treating school inspection distress as a personal mental health issue
A new study has cautioned that focusing solely on individual mental health when discussing distress around Ofsted inspections may overlook the impact of social pressures and disturbed working environments facing teachers.
By Helen Breese | Published on 11 February 2026
Categories: Press office; Research; Nottingham Institute of Education; School of Social Sciences;
The research by Nottingham Trent University (NTU) draws on more than 230 submissions to the parliamentary inquiry into Ofsted.
The inquiry was established following the death of headteacher Ruth Perry in 2023, in which an Ofsted inspection was reported by the coroner to be a contributing factor in her suicide.
The analysis suggests 98% of the submissions included negative comments about Ofsted.
Teachers recounted a range of health effects they associated with Ofsted, including physical symptoms such as nausea, panic attacks, tearfulness, and episodes of collapse. Some described longer-term impacts on wellbeing including anxiety and, in some cases, self-harm and harmful thoughts.
Findings suggest that the inspection process can create environments in which teachers feel under intense pressure and unable to challenge outcomes that may have major implications for their careers and school communities.
Ofsted has introduced new report cards to replace the one word system.
Lead author Rachel Harding, Research Fellow in NTU's School of Social Sciences, said: "Our main concern from this research is that the impact on teachers is often attributed to a personal crisis or individual mental health. This is particularly dangerous as these harmful thoughts can arise not only from individual mental health challenges but also from social pressures and disturbed working environments because of Ofsted.
“Sociological theory suggests the interactions between people and experiences of shame, guilt, unmet expectations, or feeling trapped – which appear in some of the Inquiry responses – can influence the harmful impact of inspection. When these conditions become harmful, it is necessary to view this as a political responsibility of the government and Ofsted rather than an individual failing on the part of teachers themselves.”
Ofsted and government responses to the Inquiry have so far not directly addressed the possibility that teachers may experience harmful thoughts because of Ofsted.
Project lead Dr Andrew Clapham, Associate Professor of Education Policy at NTU, said: “For some teachers, inspections are not simply stressful, they can be experienced as overwhelming and deeply destabilising. Teachers often feel torn between doing what is best for pupils and what is demanded by inspectors. That conflict can push them into impossible positions.
“Real change requires more than the new report card system or providing brief mental‑health training. It demands a compassionate, evidence‑based re‑evaluation of how we hold schools to account.”
Professor Julia Waters, Ruth Perry's sister, who has campaigned for Ofsted reform and who was not involved in this research, said: "This study clearly presents the evidence of the terrible human cost posed by Ofsted inspections, evidence that Ofsted and successive governments have still not fully grasped.
“Warnings from my sister's inquest, a parliamentary inquiry, and other official reviews continue to be ignored, potentially putting more lives at risk.
"A better system is possible, but until Ofsted fully reforms how it conducts and reports inspections, teachers will continue to fear the bullying, public shaming and lack of redress that destroyed Ruth."
Notes for Editors
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About Nottingham Trent University
Nottingham Trent University (NTU) has been named UK ‘University of the Year’ five times in six years, (Times Higher Education Awards 2017, The Guardian University Awards 2019, The Times and Sunday Times 2018 and 2023, Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2023) and is consistently one of the top performing modern universities in the UK.
Students have voted us the best university in the UK and 1st in the UK for student employability (Uni Compare 2025).
NTU is 4th in the UK for number of undergraduate students (HESA 2023-24) with over 36,000 students and more than 4,000 staff located across six campuses. It has an international student population of 6,000 and an NTU community representing over 160 countries.
NTU owns two Queen’s Anniversary Prizes for outstanding achievements in research (2015, 2021). The first recognises NTU’s research on the safety and security of global citizens. The second was awarded for research in science, engineering, arts and humanities to investigate and restore cultural objects, buildings and heritage. The Research Excellence Framework (2021) classed 83% of NTU’s research activity as either world-leading or internationally excellent.
NTU was awarded GOLD in the national 2023 Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) assessment.
NTU is a top 10 for sport (British Universities and Colleges Sport league table 2025) and was named as Sports University of the Year (Daily Mail University Guide 2025). It has also been ranked as 25th in the UK by the Guardian University Guide 2026.
NTU is a holder of the University Mental Health Charter recognising the commitment an institution has shown towards continuous improvement in the area of mental health and wellbeing.
NTU is the most environmentally sustainable university in the UK and second in the world (UI Green Metric University World Rankings, 2024).