Ofsted chief ‘insensitive’ over head teacher’s death, sister says

The sister of a head teacher who took her own life after her school was downgraded by Ofsted has branded comments from the chief inspector suggesting that this had been used to criticise the watchdog as “grossly insensitive”.

Ruth Perry died in January after Caversham Primary School in Berkshire was downgraded from “outstanding” to “inadequate”. The inquest into her death will be held next week.

Ofsted’s chief inspector Amanda Spielman told BBC’s Woman’s Hour that the incident had been used to “discredit” the watchdog.

Prof Julia Walters, Mrs Perry’s sister, said that Ofsted’s inspections were “punitive” and criticised Ms Spielman for suggesting her sister’s death had been used as a “pivot” to condemn the inspectorate.

Speaking on BBC Woman’s Hour, Ms Spielman, who is stepping down from the role next month, said that Ofsted was “doing a really good job”.

“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,” she said.

“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 added that the past months had witnessed a “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 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 said that Ofsted 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.”

After Mrs Perry’s death, MPs launched an inquiry into Ofsted inspections.

Caversham Primary School was inspected again in June and upgraded to good. The school was first inspected in November 2022 and rated inadequate following concerns over its leadership and management.