There's a teacher at my school that needs to be apologised to. She's been there a long time, through thick and thin, good, bad and disastrous times. She's held the school together; teaching outstandingly, propping up staff and the senior leadership team (SLT), commanding the respect of all. She's got that elusive teaching X-factor. Her style can occasionally be copied but the underlying talent is innate.

Our school is not a green leafy school. It should never be compared to one. It is in a highly deprived area and the needs within the school often reflect this. After a while, teachers become specialists working in such schools. No one, however, could have become more of an expert than this particular teacher.

You would never have known any of these challenges existing upon entering this teacher's class. The ethos she created year-upon-year was inspirational. Her focus was entirely upon the children, who hung off her every word. She appreciated them as individuals and they thrived both as people and academically under her guidance. They forgot any problems they might have outside school while with her. Her classes were fun, stimulating and most importantly, they were safe.

This teacher was on the SLT and could have ascended the ranks. She was highly regarded by all, not just in our school, but in the borough. She was reluctant to pursue this path much further because it would inevitably entail increased time behind a desk, rather than doing what she excelled in. Her passion was her class. We agreed with her decision, knowing that taking her skills away from children in class would have deprived them further. This teacher was truly narrowing the gap for our pupils, long before the phrase was even a twinkle in its author's eye.

There used to be a great spirit at my school, in spite of our difficulties. All who came in noticed it. Staff were genuinely a team, we put the children first. But in spite of the many positives, we recognised that we were up against it. We watched heads flailing and falling and we tried our best to keep going. She was the backbone in these bad times; respected and loved by pupils, teachers and parents.

Things started to change more rapidly just over a year ago. The atmosphere of tension escalated and the pressure built. It was known that Ofsted's framework was changing, but everyone was too busy to think about the implications it might have for school and individuals. At the time, we did not make the link to the deterioration in our school's atmosphere.

Looking back, we now know exactly what the framework meant for our school. It gave the green light for its destruction. We were sitting ducks.

But the irony is, we had all wanted our school to improve and looked forward to the necessary changes. There was something about our children and school that inspired high levels of passion and commitment. Some of us were naively even looking forward to Ofsted, hoping that they could help validate our shaky path forward or, if not, trusting that they might help us find one. We weren't quite stupid enough to think that we would get one of the top two grades. There were too many problems and weaknesses in our school, but the quality of teaching had never been questioned. The framework changed that. The majority of us went from being judged as good and outstanding to inadequate within a year.

Our wonderful teacher is now almost unrecognisable. Instead of being rewarded for her immeasurable contribution and dedication to our school she, like all of us, is now enduring a living nightmare. Her humour is now forced, her shoulders have become more stooped, her mojo is gone. This teacher has been nearly destroyed by the system, a scapegoat along with the rest of us, to assist in justifying Ofsted's judgment and vicious report.

Is Wilshaw going to parachute in the "super" teachers to help our children? Those very children we have loved but who we are, apparently, failing as teachers. Paradoxically, the most "super teacher" of all was parachuted in more than a decade ago and has been working doggedly and modestly here ever since.

How many others are there like her around the country? Now buried and written off within an "inadequate" school or forced to teach robotically within an academy? What a waste of talent and what a destruction of spirit.

Our teacher used to lie awake at night dreaming of lessons she would teach and resources she could make. Thinking of how to incorporate a new trick she had learned on the Smartboard into lessons the next day. Wondering if little Johnny in her class had something to eat before he went to bed, and hoping that the social services visit to little Chelsea's house had ended in a positive outcome. She knew that the next day would be constructive and content, and that she could make a difference to these children.

Nowadays she lies awake worrying about her own future. There is no happiness or excitement in her anticipation of the next day. She is instead wondering if she will be able to keep paying her rising bills and, being a single mother, support her family if she loses her job.

So who owes her an apology? Gove and Wilshaw do for certain, but it's not just them. Isn't it anyone who has watched or heard about such events unfurling and allowed it to happen? Many of these people have known how wrong the ideology currently dominating our education system is, yet they have stood by and not helped to protect her.

Our education system has become immoral. It is producing innocent human casualties. However much it pretends to be, it is not about the children anymore it is about power and ambition. If it was about the children, teachers like my friend would not be being driven into leaving the profession. Our children, particularly our disadvantaged children, need her. I hope one day she will be treated again with the respect she deserves and that her passion for teaching will once more light up her heart.

This week's Secret Teacher works at a primary school in the north of England. Names have been changed.

This content is brought to you by Guardian Professional. Looking for your next role? Take a look at Guardian jobs for schools for thousands of the latest teaching, leadership and support jobs.