The sister of a headteacher who killed herself after an Ofsted inspection said comments by the watchdog’s chief inspector were a “kick in the guts” and accused it of failing to make the changes needed to prevent further cases.
A coroner this week concluded that Ofsted’s inspection of Ruth Perry’s school – downgrading it from outstanding to inadequate – contributed to Perry’s suicide, after an inquest in Reading identified multiple failings in the inspection process and the lack of training for Ofsted staff.
Heidi Connor, the senior coroner for Berkshire, also rebuked the inspectorate for “surprisingly insensitive comments from the most senior levels of Ofsted just a few short days before this inquest”. Ofsted’s chief inspector, Amanda Spielman, had claimed that Perry’s death “has been used as a pivot to try and discredit what we do”.
Perry’s sister, Julia Waters, told BBC Woman’s Hour: “It was such a kick in the guts. Just a few days before the inquest starts and here she [Spielman] is, again, in public media, casting aspersions on me and on those like me, who can see there’s something wrong with the inspection system, suggesting that Ruth’s death’s been used as a pivot to discredit Ofsted. I mean, it’s outrageous.
“Ofsted are doing a very good job of discrediting themselves. They don’t need us to come along and do that.
“Ruth’s death was a direct result of an Ofsted inspection. I’ve been trying for the last 11 months to point out the fatal flaws in Ofsted’s inspection system and have been ignored. That the chief inspector herself can use her public voice and public platform to make such a crass and outrageous claim is just unacceptable.”
Waters said Spielman’s apology to her family was “woefully inadequate”, with Spielman apologising “for the distress rather than causing my sister’s death”.
Reponding, Ofsted said: “We don’t have anything to add to our statement from yesterday.”
Appearing on BBC Breakfast, Waters revealed harrowing notes by Perry, handwritten shortly before her death, showing her distress while waiting for Ofsted to publish the inspection report on her school, Caversham primary school, in Reading.
One read: “I wake from restless sleep absolutely panic stricken. 40 days are taking their toll on my skin and my nails, my stomach is wasting away.”. Another, written in the early hours of Christmas Day last year, said: “‘I.N.A.D.E.Q.U.A.T.E keeps flashing behind my eyes.”
After the coroner’s verdict on Thursday, Spielman – who did not appear at the inquest – made a statement that said: “On behalf of Ofsted, I would like to say sorry to them for the distress that Mrs Perry undoubtedly experienced as a result of our inspection.
“After Mrs Perry’s death we made changes to the way we work, to help reduce the pressure felt by school leaders. We will do more.”
Waters said Ofsted’s proposals, which include calling all lead inspectors to a one-day training session on mental health and wellbeing next week, were merely paying “lip service” to calls for change.
“Amanda Spielman’s suggestion yesterday, in response to those utterly damning conclusions of the coroner, that they’re going to do a day’s training next week to train their inspectors. I mean, come on, I think anybody can see that’s just inadequate, and something far more fundamental is required,” she said.
Waters said that in meetings with the Department for Education she has asked it to drop the use of single-word overall grades, such as inadequate, but that the government was not willing to change.
“Without removing those single word judgments, many of the other tweaks that have been offered so far will be ineffective. That’s the one thing that would be easy to change and would make the most difference,” Waters said.
The coroner’s conclusions reignited calls by school leaders for fundamental changes to the way schools in England are regulated.
Daniel Kebede, the general secretary of the National Education Union, said: “School inspection in its current form is a risk to health and wellbeing. School leaders’ welfare and wellbeing really do need to be valued more seriously – and we must listen to leaders when they warn that Ofsted inspections currently feel too pressured and too isolating.”
• In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on free UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
