Ruth Perry: Ofsted chief insensitive over head's death, sister says

The sister of a head teacher who took her own life following an Ofsted inspection has called comments by its chief "grossly insensitive".

Ruth Perry died in January after being told Caversham Primary School in Berkshire was being downgraded from outstanding to inadequate.

Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman said the case had been used to "discredit" the schools watchdog.

Mrs Perry's sister, Prof Julia Waters, said inspections were "punitive".

Her family has previously blamed the inspection for her death, saying it put her under "intolerable pressure".

The experience of Mrs Perry, who had worked at the school for 17 years, prompted questions about the systems used by Ofsted.

The watchdog and the Department for Education have previously defended one-word grades, which are not being scrapped.

Speaking on BBC Woman's Hour, Ms Spielman - who is stepping down next month - insisted Ofsted was "doing a really good job".

She said: "We've created an inspection framework that's got very wide support in the system, we've beefed up inspector training, we've got to a place where nine out of 10 schools say that their inspection is going to help them improve.

"There was a very sad case [Ruth Perry] in the spring which has been used as a pivot to try and discredit what we do.

"The quality of what we do underneath has been solid for years. We have really strong feedback on our inspection framework."

She said the past months had seen "great level of activity in the sector to create anxiety".

"Anxiety feeds anxiety. It's very clear that anxiety is being ramped up and I know that it is not coming from Ofsted," she said.

"Parents do need to know what's happening in their school, they want the reassurance if it's going well and if it's not going well they want to know that that's recognised and that action is being taken.

"So it is a tough job, but somebody does have to do it and that's us."

Prof Waters criticised the comments, saying inspections should "prioritise the wellbeing of teachers and school leaders, as well as of children".

"To suggest that Ruth's death has been used as a pivot to discredit Ofsted is not only grossly insensitive to my family's grief but shows a shocking lack of understanding of the concerns of the teaching profession.

"The outpouring of anger and anguish that has followed Ruth's death is not 'a debate about accountability'. It is the alarm call of a profession in crisis.

"Inspections should be a constructive, supportive process that drives school improvement, not a form of ritual humiliation.

"As my sister's death tragically illustrates, the current inspection system is punitive, inconsistent, unreliable and fatally-flawed."

Following Mrs Perry's death, MPs launched an inquiry into Ofsted's school inspections, looking at how useful they are to parents, governors and schools in England.

Caversham Primary School was re-inspected in June, and upgraded to good.

The primary school was initially inspected in November 2022 and rated inadequate after concerns were raised over leadership and management.

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