Unions call for immediate pause to Ofsted inspections

Ruth Perry's suicide provoked a nationwide debate about Ofsted's role in schools

Ofsted inspections should be paused immediately, following the outcome of the inquest into the death of head teacher Ruth Perry, two school-leaders' unions have said.

The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) and National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) issued the joint statement asking to allow "time for meaningful action to be taken".

It comes three days after a coroner found an Ofsted inspection last year had contributed to Mrs Perry's suicide, in January.

An Ofsted official said it was immediately introducing "a number of measures" and "all remaining issues" would be addressed once it had received the coroner's report.

Following the inquest, Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman apologised for the distress the inspection had caused Mrs Perry and said this week's inspections would be delayed by a day.

But the general secretaries of the ASCL, Geoff Barton, and NAHT, Paul Whiteman, said they did not think Ofsted's response "goes nearly far enough". And an "immediate pause to Ofsted inspections" was needed "to allow time for meaningful action to be taken to address the concerns" raised in the inquest.

Senior coroner Heidi Connor's conclusion marks the first time Ofsted has been listed as a contributing factor in a head teacher's death.

Safeguarding concerns saw Caversham Primary School, in Reading, downgraded from "outstanding" to "inadequate", after Ofsted's visit, in November 2022.

Mrs Perry, who had been the school's head for 13 years, killed herself while waiting for the report to be published.

The school has since been regraded "good".

At the conclusion of the inquest, the coroner also issued a prevention-of-future-death notice (PFD), setting out areas of concern, to prevent similar situations.

Anyone receiving a PFD has 56 days to say how they plan to mitigate the risk of future deaths.

Mr Barton and Mr Whiteman said: "It is important that we have clarity from Ofsted about a plan and timetable to address each area before further inspections take place.

"This is vital in reassuring schools and colleges that appropriate steps are being taken to protect and support the welfare of education staff."

They did not set out their own timetable for the pause but said one was necessary for schools and colleges to have "even a modicum of confidence" in Ofsted. And they had shared their concerns with Sir Martyn Oliver, who takes over from Ms Spielman in January.

Work sensitively

Ofsted said the new measures it was introducing had been discussed with lead inspectors on Monday and it was developing new training for all inspectors in early January.

With it being the final week of inspections of the year, they said heads receiving the call this week would be able to defer their inspection to January.

The official added: "It’s important that school inspections continue, in the interests of children and parents – but we are determined to work sensitively with headteachers and their staff.”

Speaking in the House of Commons on Monday, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan called Mrs Perry's death a "tragedy" and said she had been working in consultation with her family and friends to introduce "important changes" to the inspection system, including:

• changing the confidentiality requirement for head teachers who received their inspection result before the full report was published

• faster reinspections for schools graded inadequate solely over safeguarding concerns