Ruth Perry’s sister says Ofsted reforms put school leaders ‘at risk of public shaming’

The sister of a headteacher who took her own life says Ofsted’s planned changes to the way schools are inspected “still put school leaders at risk of public shaming” and has urged the rollout to be halted by the Education Secretary.

Professor Julia Waters, sister of Ruth Perry, said Ofsted’s new plans, which include report cards with a five-point grading scale due to come into place in November, are just a “cosmetic rebranding, tweaking and expansion of the same unreliable and punishing system as the one before”.

Mrs Perry took her own life after a report from the watchdog downgraded her Caversham Primary School in Reading from its highest rating to its lowest over safeguarding concerns, with staff reporting she was left “tearful and incoherent” after the inspection in 2022.

Following an inquest in December 2023, senior coroner Heidi Connor concluded Mrs Perry’s mental health deterioration and death was “likely contributed to by the Ofsted inspection”.

In a statement released after Ofsted announced a raft of changes of Tuesday, including a new colour-coded scale grading a variety of areas including attendance, behaviour and inclusion, Prof Waters said the reforms are an “over-complicated mish-mash” and should be halted.

She said: “While positive changes have been made and others are promised, this is a wasted opportunity to give parents, children and teachers in England the credible school accountability system they deserve right now.

“This was meant to be the conclusion of a long period of learning and reform, not the start of more delay and uncertainty.

“The terrible, preventable death of my sister, Ruth Perry, as a result of a ‘rude and intimidating’ Ofsted inspection, showed the brutal inhumanity of our system of school inspection.

“An inquest, a Parliamentary inquiry, a series of independent reports and official reviews have all made recommendations to reform practices that were shown to have contributed to her death, and to change Ofsted’s systems and culture.

“Now, Sinead McBrearty’s Independent Wellbeing Impact Assessment of the Revised Ofsted Framework, dated July this year, highlights the same concerns and makes many of the same recommendations.

“Yet Ofsted and the Government remain set on rushing ahead with the rollout of the new framework in November, before vital safeguards have been implemented.

“This is not a new system.

“This is a cosmetic rebranding, tweaking and expansion of the same unreliable and punishing system as the one before.

“It still includes many of the risks that teachers and headteachers fear, without significant benefits or safeguards.

“It still puts school leaders at risk of public shaming, still means they may fear the high-stakes consequences of a bad inspection, still offers no structural safeguards against inspector misconduct, and still provides no credible independent appeals system.

“This proposed new regime may work for government bureaucrats, but it will continue to undermine the work of teachers and school leaders.

“That’s not helpful to anyone, especially children and their parents.”

Prof Waters added: “It is not too late to make the changes that are needed.

“I call on Bridget Phillipson to halt the rollout of these confusing and potentially dangerous proposals.

“She should acknowledge the overwhelming evidence that this type of inspection regime poses unnecessary risks and puts undue pressure on teachers and school leaders.

“And she should work with the teaching profession and suicide prevention experts to create a genuinely fair and reliable system.”

The Education Secretary said: “Every child deserves a brilliant education and that means a system that’s relentlessly focused on strong accountability that puts children first.

“New school report cards will raise the bar for standards across the board, shining a light on what’s working and where change is needed.

“By providing a fuller picture of school performance, from attendance and behaviour to inclusion, we’re giving parents the transparency they deserve and schools the tools to improve.

“From school inspection to new technology, to experts who have been there and done it – through our Plan for Change we will use every lever we can to boost the life chances of our children and ensure aspiration is not just the preserve of some, but the right of each and every young person, wherever they grow up.”