FDA Ofsted report 2025: The people behind inspections

January 22, 2026

FDA in your workplace, Standing up for civil servants

After a barrage of media criticism and calls for abolition, it’s been a difficult period for His Majesty’s Inspectors (HMI). Tommy Newell outlines the findings of the FDA’s recent report, revealing the reality of parents’ and educators’ views of Ofsted, and what HMIs need for an inspection system fit for the future.

Change has been a constant theme in Ofsted over the past year, culminating in the introduction of the new Education inspection framework this November. While scrutiny of its development and roll out has quite rightly focussed on how it will impact pupils and teachers, new research from the FDA shines a light on the challenges facing those tasked with implementing the new framework – His Majesty’s Inspectors (HMI) themselves.

Our report – Beyond the Framework: The people behind inspections – makes clear that HMI will never be blockers to implementing changes that benefit both the education of children and the experience of educators. However, the success of any reform will be reliant on HMI, and the report finds that they are overworked and overstretched.

An independent YouGov poll of UK parents with children aged under 18 found that 73% of parents believe that Ofsted reports are important to them when choosing which school to send their child to. Furthermore, 83% of parents agree with the principle that school performance should be independently reviewed and made available to the public.

This paints the picture of HMI as trusted professionals, delivering a vital public service that parents rely on. This is in stark contrast to many of the recent headlines regarding inspections, with calls to abolish Ofsted altogether becoming increasingly common from some quarters.

A separate YouGov poll of teachers in England also revealed that 74% of teachers believe their most recent inspection was accurate. An anonymous educator told the FDA that they had “never come across an inspector who’s not wanted the best for the school and the best for the leaders”, while another commented that they had “never had a negative experience with an Ofsted inspector where they have not been fair or supportive with their challenge”.

Despite this, FDA research shows that 55% of HMI believe that educators perceive them ‘negatively’, with only 18% of HMI believing educators perceive them ‘positively’.

The report also finds that 98% of HMI work beyond their contracted hours. The majority of HMI –three out of five – are working more than 10 additional hours each week. This means that most HMI are working at least 55 hours per week, significantly more than the law set out in The Working Time Regulations in 1998, which states workers must not work more than 48 hours per week on average.

Somewhat unsurprisingly, the vast majority of HMI claim that working such long hours is impacting their personal lives, with 89% of HMI regularly having to rearrange or cancel personal commitments due to working more than their contracted hours. This is exacerbated by 89% of HMI stating that working more than their contracted hours ‘significantly’ negatively impacts their wellbeing.

It’s not just the personal lives of HMI that are being impacted by a lack of action to address unsustainable workloads – 69% of HMI believe that working more than their contracted hours has an impact on the quality of their work. The report argues that Ofsted has a real opportunity to improve the quality of inspections and, therefore, the quality of education, by addressing the issue of working hours for HMI at the same time as reforming the inspection framework.

An anonymous HMI

[My top priority is] making sure all children get the best possible
education.

An anonymous educator

I’ve never come across an inspector who’s not wanted the best for the school and the best for the leaders.

An anonymous educator

I’ve never had a negative experience with an Ofsted inspector where they have not been fair or supportive with their challenge.

In his foreword for the report, FDA General Secretary Dave Penman says it highlights “a workforce under immense pressure” and stresses that “these are not just statistics – they are warning signs”.

“If we want inspections to be meaningful, fair, and trusted, we must ensure that those delivering them are respected, supported, and heard,” he continues. “That means recognising the human cost of current workloads, the impact burnout will have on the organisation’s ability to deliver and reforming the system to prioritise quality over quantity. It also means listening to educators, who overwhelmingly want inspections to be more personal, more humane, and more focused on helping schools improve.”

Worryingly, 62% of HMI say the organisation has done nothing to address them regularly working beyond contracted hours. Only 9% feel they’ve received any meaningful support. “The organisation does not appear to notice or care. There is an embedded culture that this is expected and accepted,” is how one anonymous HMI put it.

Beyond the Framework: The people behind inspections sets out some key recommendations that may help to achieve this. Recommendation one calls for Ofsted to ‘Ensure the inspection fits the setting’. The research suggests that educators prefer a more personal inspection with one-on-one time with HMI. Improvements could be made through constructing a system that recognises the varying demands of different inspection types e.g. size of school, complexity of setting and/or safeguarding concerns. The goal is not to make all inspections identical, but to make workloads manageable and equitable across different contexts. This would, therefore, mean that each school is able to benefit from more unfiltered communication with the HMI leading their inspections, providing a better experience for teachers, school leaders and HMI.

Recommendation two calls for Ofsted to ‘Introduce a fair workload pledge’, that sets maximum weekly hours and minimum rest periods for all HMI, with the pledge’s compliance reviewed quarterly and breaches reported on publicly. Recognising that the new framework may place increased demand on Senior HMI, monitoring workloads in this way would allow Ofsted to identify stress points and direct resources effectively. Recommendation three is for Ofsted to ‘Enhance inspector wellbeing and professional development’ by exploring more flexible and innovative approaches to workload management, including the use of emerging technologies such as AI to streamline administrative tasks and reduce unnecessary burdens on inspectors. Alongside this, there is a clear opportunity to enhance the training and development

offer for HMI. This should be designed in close collaboration with education professionals to ensure it reflects current classroom realities and maintains credibility across the sector.

“The FDA stands firmly on the side of parents and children, advocating for an inspection system that is both rigorous and compassionate,” Penman says. “We believe that by improving the working lives of HMI, we can enhance the quality of inspections, rebuild trust across the sector, and ultimately deliver better outcomes for every child. We urge Ofsted and the Department for Education to take these findings seriously and to work with us to implement the recommendations set out in this report. Together, we can build an inspection system that is fit for the future – one that respects its workforce, supports educators, and serves the best interests of children and their families across the UK.”

Recommendations

Recommendation 1: Ensure the inspection fits the setting

Our research suggests that educators prefer a more personal inspection with one-on-one time with HMI. On more complex inspections, this can be challenging to deliver owing to the volume of activities that are required. Improvements could be made through constructing a system that recognises the varying demands of different inspection types (e.g. size of school, complexity of setting, safeguarding concerns). Ofsted could deliver benefits for educators and protect HMI wellbeing by ensuring that inspection tariffs are sufficiently high and that inspections of significant complexity are not assigned to the same inspector back-to-back. The goal is not to make all inspections identical, but to make workloads manageable and equitable across different contexts. This would, therefore, mean that each school is able to benefit from more unfiltered communication with the HMI leading their inspections, providing a better experience for teachers, school leaders and HMI.

Recommendation 2: Introduce a fair workload pledge

Ofsted should develop a fair workload pledge that sets maximum weekly hours and minimum rest periods for all HMI. The pledge’s compliance should be reviewed quarterly, with breaches reported on publicly. Inspection reforms cannot succeed off the backs of an already overstretched HMI workforce. The new framework may place increased demand on Senior HMI and their wellbeing must also be protected throughout. Monitoring workloads in this way will allow Ofsted to identify stress points and direct resources to ensure the high-quality inspection that parents expect is maintained through the introduction of the new framework.

Recommendation 3: Enhance inspector wellbeing and professional development

While this report highlights that parental confidence in HMI remains relatively high, this trust could be strengthened by addressing inspector fatigue and supporting professional growth, both of which are key to maintaining high-quality inspections. Ofsted should explore more flexible and innovative approaches to workload management, including the use of emerging technologies such as AI to streamline administrative tasks and reduce unnecessary burdens on inspectors. Alongside this, there is a clear opportunity to enhance the training and development offer for HMI. This should be designed in close collaboration with education professionals, to ensure it reflects current classroom realities and maintains credibility across the sector. Regular monitoring of staff wellbeing and professional satisfaction through mechanisms such as annual surveys would help assess the impact of these changes. By investing in both wellbeing and professional development, Ofsted can support inspectors more effectively, improve retention, and reinforce the quality and credibility of inspections.

Read the full report online here: Beyond the Framework: The people behind inspections

Survey data

HMI: Data compiled through an internal survey of FDA Union HMI and Senior HMI members. Survey was conducted in May 2025 and received 191 responses. In the UK, there are approximately 343 working HMI and 88 Senior HMI.

Parents: All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 1003 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 3rd – 8th April 2025. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK parents of children aged under 18.

Teachers: All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 880 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 11th – 21st April 2025. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of teachers in England.