Five questions about Ofsted after the Ruth Perry inquest
- Published
The death of Ruth Perry has provoked a nationwide debate about the role of Ofsted in schools
School inspections play a crucial role in how parents choose where to send their children. But the death of Ruth Perry, the head teacher who killed herself before her school was judged to be "inadequate", has raised questions about Ofsted and how it inspects schools.
Here are five questions Ofsted now faces.
Will the one and two-word judgements be axed?
The inquest verdict could not have been clearer: Ruth Perry's death was suicide, contributed to by an Ofsted inspection carried out in November 2022.
The Senior Coroner Heidi Connor said the "transparency and ease" of the one or two-word Ofsted grades for parents - "outstanding", "good", "requires improvement" or "inadequate" - was not weighed against teacher welfare.
She warned the government that she would cover this in a prevention of future deaths report which will be published soon.
There was already a fierce debate about whether the overall grade could really sum up the complexity of a school. The argument in favour is they give parents an overview, at-a-glance, with more detail in the report, which is usually a few pages.
The coroner said it was hard to understand a system in which two very different schools could both get an "inadequate" grade and face the same consequences.
"Hypothetical school A is inadequate in all areas and there are serious concerns about safeguarding, which will take a long time to fix. Hypothetical school B is good in all areas, but has safeguarding concerns which are likely to be fixed quickly."
At Ruth Perry's school everything was found to be "good" in the November 2022 inspection - apart from safeguarding. The inquest heard the safeguarding concerns around record keeping could be swiftly addressed.
When a school is judged "inadequate" by Ofsted its head teacher often loses their job - and this is what Ruth Perry feared.
So will these overall Ofsted grades for schools go any time soon? It's not likely as this is a government decision, and the grades are used for everything from hospitals to prisons.
The Labour Party has said it would move to a report card system with weaknesses and areas for improvement if it forms the next government.
What is it going to do about head teachers' anger?
Schools have long complained about a culture of fear when it comes to Ofsted and school inspections - as well as the pressure they put on teachers. It's important to also remember many senior teachers and heads do some part-time Ofsted work, and inspection is always going to be stressful.
The coroner at Mrs Perry's inquest said the inspection at her school "lacked fairness, respect and sensitivity" and was at times "rude and intimidating".
After the verdict Ofsted said all schools would in future be provided with a number to call if they have concerns about the inspection.
Many head teachers and teachers also felt the tone of Ofsted's response to her death was tin-eared. Amanda Spielman, the chief inspector, said just days before the inquest that Mrs Perry's death had been used to pivot into discrediting their work. The coroner issued a stiff rebuke at the start of the inquest.
The tone of Ofsted's defence of the inspection at Caversham Primary left many head teachers arguing that Ofsted were missing the point, so bringing a simmering debate about the mental health of heads into the open.
What will the new Ofsted boss do?
Current boss Amanda Spielman is leaving after more than six years in the job. In January, Martyn Oliver will take over - he's a former head teacher and, more recently, has been running a group of more than 40 academy schools in the Midlands and north of England. Some have pointed to his schools' high volume of pupil suspensions, but he has also been praised for raising standards.
He takes over following searing criticism of Ofsted at Mrs Perry's inquest.
Mr Oliver will oversee the introduction of better training now promised for inspectors on how to handle head teacher distress and when to pause an inspection. Heidi Connor, the coroner, wasn't convinced they had anything in place. She added the whole idea of a pause seemed to have been created as a "mythical beast" during Ofsted's evidence at the inquest.
Formal recommendations will be issued by the coroner later on these points.
What will be crucial is how the new chief inspector sets the tone publicly when he takes over in the new year - it's one thing he can control. There is a repair job to be done on relationships and the perception of Ofsted from the damage done in the handling of the Ruth Perry case.
Much else, such as the one or two-word grades, is not in his power, but sits with government. He could choose at some point to rewrite the benchmarks against which schools are judged, but that is a lengthy process that takes years.
And then there is a General Election next year, so who forms the next government will also have an impact on how schools are inspected.
Who inspects the inspectors?
Ofsted answers to Parliament. After the controversy surrounding Ruth Perry's death, MPs said they wanted to look at how the system was working for parents and schools. They have been hearing evidence about head teachers' mental health and how many leave the role within five years.
They have also asked about the consistency and reliability of the judgements made about schools.
While Ofsted says the decisions are robust and rigorous, some academics think it's not that clear, as research has shown judgements can vary and can even be influenced by the gender of the inspector, for example.
The charity Parentkind, which represents PTAs (parent teacher associations), said school inspections were very important to parents, but a snapshot survey of their members suggested only 24% found the current reports useful. Research for Ofsted has suggested it is closer to 80%.
MPs are expected to publish their report in the next couple of months.
The coroner Heidi Connor said she hoped they would take into account the evidence and findings in the inquest, and any recommendations she makes.
What about the mental health of head teachers?
Ofsted has admitted it could do more to minimise the stress on head teachers, and has now promised more training. Ofsted told the inquest that inspections can be paused if a school leader becomes particularly distressed - but it was unable to show any written evidence of this.
Two key sources of stress for Ruth Perry, according to the evidence, were the long wait for the report to be published, and the strict confidentiality warning that came with the draft report.
Mrs Perry didn't feel she could tell family and friends - her closest support network. The coroner said even when she attended hospital feeling suicidal, Mrs Perry felt she couldn't discuss the report with mental health professionals. Heidi Connor said it would have "assisted Ruth greatly"
Ofsted has promised it will change the inspection handbook to make it clear to head teachers "they can share inspection outcomes with colleagues, family, medical advisers and their wider support group, before they are shared with parents".
There has been a growing recognition that head teachers face a huge amount of stress, including from inspections. Coming out of the pandemic the government has provided more than £1m funding to the charity Education Support to provide a safe listening space for school leaders in confidential supervision sessions.
Their waiting list has grown, and CEO Sinead McBrearty said the severity of mental health issues had increased. They have bid again for funding to continue the work.
"Overwork is completely normalised," Ms McBrearty says, "the resources available to do the job have diminished, and children and young people are not as they were in 2019."
How Ruth Perry's death put Ofsted in the spotlight.
Related topics
- Published8 December 2023
- Published1 December 2023
- Published29 November 2023
- Published3 September
- Published20 November 2023
- Published21 March 2023
