LOWER grades in Ofsted’s new report cards “actively penalise” schools that are more inclusive to pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (Send), a headteachers’ union said today.

National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) analysis found one in five schools with above-average numbers of Send pupils were judged “needs attention” for attendance and behaviour, compared with one in 10 schools with below-average numbers.

The findings come after the government unveiled sweeping Send reforms intended to make schools more inclusive.

The union’s analysis also found that a third of schools with above-average numbers of pupils eligible for free school meals received a “needs attention” grade for achievement, compared with 18 per cent of schools with below-average eligibility.

NAHT general secretary Paul Whiteman said the findings should “ring serious alarm bells” for the government’s ambitions for more Send pupils to learn in mainstream schools.

He said successive Ofsted frameworks have penalised schools serving deprived communities, and the new framework “appears to have compounded” the issue.

Schools serving the most deprived communities face an “uphill battle,” he added.

“Not only are these lower grades unfair for schools that operate in more deprived areas, they also actively penalise those that are more inclusive for pupils with Send,” he said.

“Furthermore, it risks discouraging leaders and teachers from going to work in the very schools that need them the most.”

Ofsted is expected to publish its own data on the first set of inspections under the new framework next month.

The new Ofsted report cards have been in place since November 2025.

The former single-word judgments were scrapped following the death of headteacher Ruth Perry.

A Department for Education spokesperson said the government’s Send reforms put “inclusion at the heart of education.”

Ofsted was approached for comment.