The death of a headteacher in England after her school was downrated by Ofsted, has shone a spotlight on pressure heads are under during school inspections. The National Association of Headteachers, the Association of School and College Leaders and the National Education Union have called for a review of the impact of inspections across the border following the death of Ruth Perry - they also want inspections paused.
The 53 year-old headteacher of Caversham Primary Reading is thought to have taken her own life in January after an Ofsted inspection downgraded her school from outstanding to inadequate. Her death has caused a storm of protest about Ofsted’s inspection process from heads and teachers.
Ruth Perry’s family have also called for urgent review of the education watchdog, saying its inspection system is “punitive” and “fatally flawed”.
Read more: Wales confirms it is ditching the only public system comparing school performance
The headteacher’s sister, Julia Waters said her family believe Ruth’s death was a “direct result” of the pressure put on her by the process and outcome of the Ofsted inspection, the Guardian reported. She said Ruth had been “an absolute shadow of her former self” while waiting for the report’s publication.
Ms Waters said the rating had “destroyed” the vocation of her sister, who had once been a pupil at the school. “This one-word judgment is just destroying 32 years of her vocation – education was her vocation – 32 years summed up in one word, inadequate,” she said. “It just preyed on her mind until she couldn’t take it any more.”
Ofsted’s report found Caversham Primary to be good in every category apart from leadership and management, where it was judged “inadequate”, bringing the overall judgment down to the lowest possible category. A petition calling for an inquiry into the inspection has gathered more than 100,000 signatures.
Ruth Perry’s sister said a coroner has yet to reach a verdict on her death but added “Nevertheless, we are in no doubt that Ruth’s death was a direct result of the pressure put on her by the process and outcome of an Ofsted inspection at her school”.
She said Ofsted’s judgment wasn’t a true reflection of Ruth’s leadership of wonderful school for 12 years. Ofsted still uses headline outcomes which were scrapped in Wales. School inspections here are carried out by Estyn and follow a different and recently reformed format - you can read more about that here
But heads and organisations representing them say Estyn inspections still cause “real pressure”. Eithne Hughes, director of ASCL Cymru and a former headteacher herself, said headteachers “dread” inspections and even the new process causes “real pressure”.
ASCL Cymru wants all inspections of schools with new headteachers to be halted for a year and has called on the watchdog to ensure wellbeing of school leaders, however experienced, is always taken into consideration in the process.
Ms Hughes said experiences of inspection differ. One headteacher had recently complained their inspection had been deeply unfair, while another had praised the team that came into their school.
Whatever the experience turned out to be heads “dread” the letter saying an inspection is imminent, she said. Ms Hughes called for a more consistent approach, saying some inspectors were known to judge harshly and just seeing their name on the lists causes anxiety.
“Being inspected is very, very stressful. It does not matter whether you are an excellent school with results flying high - it is stressful. It is always a very high pressure environment when you have an inspection.
“It is always going to be difficult and edgy and create a considerable amount of pressure. I would say there are cases where it is so intense it causes real pressure.”
She said schools do need to be accountable and know what’s working well and what isn’t, but “compassion” was needed during the inspection process too. Headteacher wellbeing must be taken into account during such a high stakes process where people will judge and compare them and their school.
ASCL said schools’ individual circumstances, as well as the after shock of Covid still affecting performance, should always be taken into account. Problems with low attendance and poor behaviour were a national problem exacerbated by lockdowns.
“The inspection framework is less brutal in Wales than England because we’ve moved to a more narrative than headline report, but I hope Estyn are always compassionate to school leadership. At such a difficult time post-Covid we don’t need a bloodless, clip board approach.”
Matthew Purves, Ofsted’s regional director for the South East, said: “We were deeply saddened by Ruth Perry’s tragic death.
“Our thoughts remain with Mrs Perry’s family, friends and everyone in the Caversham Primary School community.”
School leaders call for inspections to be halted in England
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “Ruth Perry’s death is an unspeakable tragedy and it is clear that school leaders across the nation have been deeply affected by the news.
“Having spoken with Ruth’s family, we know they are determined that something like this should never happen again. It is important that everyone listens to what they have to say.
“It is clear that school leaders up and down the country are placed under intolerable pressure by the current approach. It cannot be right that we treat dedicated professionals in this way. Something has to change. Whilst it should never take a tragedy like this to prompt action, this has to be a watershed moment.
“The anger and hurt being expressed currently by school staff is palpable. It is essential that all policy makers, including Ofsted, listen and respond.
“Given the strength of feeling and the need for a period of calm reflection, Ofsted should pause inspections this week.”
Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders said ASCL joined colleagues in the NAHT and NEU in calling on Ofsted to pause inspections following Ruth Perry’s death.
How inspections work in Wales
Reforms to Estyn's inspection regime were first published in 2018. Inspections were then halted for a year from 2019 to take account of the new curriculum. The Covid pandemic meant that pause was extended.
Rather than core inspections the watchdog kept in touch with schools virtually during the pandemic. Inspections began under the new regime towards the end of last academic year.
Estyn inspection reports no longer include summative gradings such as excellent, good, adequate or in urgent need of improvement. Rather than focusing on a grading, reports now detail how well schools help children to learn, Estyn says.
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