Ruth Perry: Union chief slams 'simplistic' Ofsted after head's death

Head teacher Ruth Perry took her own life in January

A schools' union chief has criticised the one-word summaries used by Ofsted as "simplistic" after a head teacher took her own life.

Ruth Perry died in January ahead of the release of a report that downgraded her school in Caversham, Berkshire, from outstanding to inadequate.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said the current system was flawed.

The government said one-word summaries were a succinct independent evaluation.

Mr Whiteman's criticism came after Ofsted's former chief of inspections Sir Michael Wilshaw told education magazine Tes the one-word summaries should be scrapped in the wake of Ms Perry's death.

"As long as the government continues to insist on consigning schools to simplistic single word judgements, the inspections system will remain fundamentally flawed and put unnecessary pressure on school leaders," Mr Whiteman said.

The Ofsted inspection for Ms Perry's school was published in March and found it to be "good" in every category apart from leadership and management, where it was judged to be "inadequate".

The 53-year-old's death has fuelled a campaign by unions for the system to be changed.

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

The inquiry - by cross-party MPs on the committee - will not look at the circumstances around Ms Perry's death. Those will be examined fully at an inquest later this year.

The Department for Education said one-word inspections "succinctly summarise independent evaluations on the quality of education, safeguarding, and leadership which parents greatly rely on to give them confidence in choosing the right school for their child".

It said the government used them to "highlight success, identify schools that need support and to trigger intervention where necessary."

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Tested To The Limit

Watch the story of head teacher, Ruth Perry, who took her life after her school's rating was downgraded by Ofsted.