Ruth Perry's sister joins education leaders in call to stop Ofsted reforms
Ruth Perry's sister has joined forces with education leaders to demand a delay to proposed changes to Ofsted's inspections.
The 53-year-old headteacher took her own life in January 2023 after her school - Caversham Primary in Reading, Berkshire - was downgraded from outstanding to inadequate by the education watchdog for England.
A coroner concluded the Ofsted inspection in November 2022 "contributed" to her death. And the tragedy led to nationwide calls for reform to the country's school inspection system.
In an open letter released on the final day of Ofsted's public consultation, a coalition of senior educators, trade union heads, former inspectors and mental health advocates urged Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson to pause what they describe as a "rushed" rollout of new inspection measures.
Ms Perry 's sister, Professor Julia Waters, is among the signatories, alongside general secretaries of the UK's major teaching unions, former His Majesty's Inspectors (HMIs), and leading academics.
The letter criticises the proposed reforms as failing to reflect the painful lessons from Ms Perry's death that shone a spotlight on the pressures that school leaders face under the current Ofsted system.
"We believe the proposed new system will continue to have a detrimental impact on the wellbeing of education staff," the letter states, warning of a continued risk of "preventable deaths" if deeper systemic issues are not addressed.
The current system was previously criticised for reducing school performance into a single-word judgement. It was described by ministers as creating "low information for parents and high stakes for schools".
The one-word judgement is set to be removed. But critics say the proposed replacement offers little real change.
2:40
Report cards and a new grading structure have been suggested. But many argue these measures are only cosmetic and they fail to fix and alleviate the intense pressure schools are under.
Among the coalition's demands is the creation of a robust, independent complaints and appeals process. Currently, any complaints procedure is largely absent, leaving schools with little recourse to challenge potentially damaging inspection outcomes.
"Trust in the system needs to be restored," the letter reads. "The rushed and closed nature of the consultation has only made that worse."
The Department for Education has not yet responded to Sky News' request for comment.
The letter follows growing scrutiny from MPs, following the Education Select Committee's inquiry into Ofsted, which was launched in the wake of Ms Perry's death and broader concerns about staff wellbeing in schools.
Many in the education sector have pointed to the need for a more compassionate, collaborative, and effective approach to school accountability.
The message to the government is clear from these concerned parties: pause, listen, and engage with the evidence before imposing reforms that could risk adding pressure to a system that is already at breaking point.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
a day ago
- Telegraph
Labour ‘abandons' manifesto pledge to hire more teachers
Labour has been accused of abandoning its flagship manifesto pledge to recruit 6,500 new teachers. In its pitch for the 2024 election, the party vowed to enlist 6,500 extra teachers in key subjects to tackle shortages across the country. The Government has since claimed it is on the right track, pointing to more than 2,000 new teachers recruited last year. But it has now admitted that it is not counting primary school teachers towards the target, shortly after it emerged their numbers have fallen by nearly 3,000. The revelations, first reported by TES, the specialist education magazine, have led to claims that Labour is fiddling the figures to inflate its achievements. In a statement on Thursday, the Department for Education (DfE) said there are now '2,346 more teachers in secondary and special schools in England compared to last year, as Government makes progress on its additional 6,500 teacher target '. However, the overall number of teachers in state-funded schools in England fell in 2024-25. This is because the primary school total has dropped by about 2,900, while the number of secondary and special school teachers, as well as those working in pupil referral units, has gone up by about 2,350. The DfE has since confirmed to TES that primary teachers will not count towards the 6,500 target. Outrage from Tories It has sparked outrage from the Tories, who accused Labour of abandoning one of their central manifesto pledges. Neil O'Brien, the shadow education minister, told The Telegraph: 'Labour have abandoned not just their main education pledge but one of their main promises in their whole election manifesto. 'And everyone knows why they have dropped it. The statistics show the number of teachers overall is down under Labour. 'Falling teacher numbers are driven by a particularly sharp fall of 2,900 fewer primary school teachers under Labour. So now they are suddenly saying that primary school teachers don't count, which is so rude to primary teachers.' The drive to recruit 6,500 teachers was supposed to be funded by Labour's VAT raid on private schools. But questions have been raised about the amount of cash the change will raise, with Treasury analysis suggesting it could actually require the Government to spend an extra £650 million per year. In March, the National Foundation for Educational Research found teacher vacancies in England were at their highest rate since records began. 'They broke both promises' Mr O'Brien added: 'They promised that taxing independent schools would pay for more state school teachers and also promised they would compensate schools for the national insurance tax increase. 'They broke both those promises and now children are losing out as a result, and their response is to try to fiddle the figures. It's pathetic.' Damian Hinds, the former education secretary, also suggested that the DfE had been dishonest about the target. Last year, the Tory MP tabled a parliamentary question asking which phases of education would count towards the goal. In response, Catherine McKinnell, the education minister, said: 'This Government will work with the sector to deliver its pledge to recruit 6,500 additional teachers across schools and colleges over the course of this parliament to raise standards for children and young people and deliver the Government's mission to break down the barriers to opportunity at every stage.' Mr Hinds posted on X: 'In a written question I asked ministers specifically 'which phases of education count towards the 6,500 target of new expert teachers'. 'The answer says 'across schools and colleges' and does not say 'except primary'.' The DfE has been approached for comment.
BBC News
4 days ago
- BBC News
Bristol City Council could 'go bust' due to £63m debt 'time bomb'
Bristol City Council could "go bust" within 10 months if the government does not extend a deadline for it to plug a £63m hole in the school's budget, a councillor has deficit has mostly built up due to the authority having to spend more money than planned supporting young people with special educational needs and disabilities (Send).The council has permission from the government to carry over the debt next year, but there is no indication this deadline will be extended, and councillor Jonathan Hucker fears it has become a "ticking time bomb".The Department for Education has been contacted for comment. The schools deficit is subject to an accounting mechanism known as a "statutory override" until March 2026, which allows the council to exclude it from its main the government has not said this will be extended, or that it will provide the billions in funding required to Bristol and many other local authorities in similar situations to clear the debt, the Local Democracy Reporting Service a meeting of the audit committee on 29 May, Mr Hucker said the council is facing the prospect of having to declare bankruptcy."It is the most critical financial issue that the council faces," he said. "If the government does not act, it is likely that the council will go bust at the end of this financial year."Mr Hucker said he believed it was "very unlikely" the government would fund the deficit."It is a ticking time bomb. To withstand such a major financial shock would be difficult at the best of times."Bristol City Council finance director Andy Rothery acknowledged there was "nothing on record" from the government about extending the he added the Department for Education was conducting a major review of Send funding.
Telegraph
4 days ago
- Telegraph
Private school pupil numbers plummet after Labour's VAT raid
Private school pupil numbers have fallen by more than 11,000 in England following Labour's VAT raid on fees. There were around 582,500 pupils at English private schools in January, down from 593,500 at the same point last year, according to Department for Education (DfE) data published on Thursday. It marks a 1.9 per cent decrease compared to last year, or around one in fifty pupils – the biggest year-on-year drop in more than a decade. The figures are likely to show an initial exodus from the private school sector by January, when the Government's 20 per cent VAT raid on fees came into force. It far eclipses the Government's prediction that the policy would drive out 3,000 private school pupils across the UK this year, rising to a cumulative 14,000 next year. The DfE figures revealing the drop only capture schoolchildren in England, whereas the VAT policy applies to schools across the UK. Separate census data, published last month by the Independent Schools Council (ISC), which represents private schools across the devolved nations, claimed pupil numbers plummeted by around 13,000 in the year to January. A Government spokesman claimed the decline 'reflects the broader demographic trends and changes in the state sector' and proved that warnings about a potential exodus were 'manufactured'. But the Government's own figures show the 1.9 per cent plunge is the largest annual decline since at least 2010 – the earliest comparable data published by the DfE. The second-largest drop over that period was in January 2021, when the private school headcount fell by 1.3 per cent – or around 7,500 pupils. Slowing birth rate The decrease is also far higher than across the overall schools sector, which saw pupil numbers shrink by 0.7 per cent this year, in part because of a slowing birth rate. It includes a 1.3 per cent drop in pupil numbers at state primary schools. The number of pupils in state secondary schools remained broadly unchanged compared to last year, while the proportion of those in state-funded special education rose 5.3 per cent. Julie Robinson, chief executive of the ISC, said: 'These new Department for Education statistics show that the drop in independent school numbers cannot be explained by the fall in overall pupil numbers. 'The Government's own figures now show that, in England alone, 8,000 more students have left independent education than politicians had estimated. This outsized exodus should concern anyone who is interested in this tax on education as a revenue raiser.' Many of the biggest falls in pupil numbers occurred in poorer areas, including a 26 per cent drop in St Helens, Merseyside, a 13 per cent decline in Brent, north-west London, and a fall of 11 per cent in Barking and Dagenham, east London. Traditional independent schools – which excludes hundreds of independent special schools, alternative provision and religious schools – were more likely to be impacted by a drop in pupil numbers this year. Across the 1,218 traditional schools analysed by The Telegraph, numbers fell from around 485,500 to 472,650 - a fall of 12,850, or a 2.7 per cent drop. In other private schools, pupil numbers actually increased by around 3 per cent, with the most elite schools largely untouched. Eton College saw its pupil body increase by five to hit 1,346 in January, while Winchester College made room for eight extra places. Charterhouse's pupil body rose by five per cent. Mike Stimpson, a partner at wealth manager Saltus, said the overall drop of 1.9 per cent private school pupils was likely to 'just be the beginning', with more families expected to reconsider their education options over the summer. 'The academic year starting this September will be the first full school year under the new VAT regime, and our research suggests we are likely to see further declines in private school enrolments as the financial impact of this policy becomes even more real for families,' he said. Earlier this year, the ISC accused ministers of having 'underestimated' the impact of the VAT policy, which the Government hopes will raise £1.8 billion a year by the end of the decade. Average private school fees soared by 22.6 per cent this year, according to the ISC's latest annual census, compared to an 8.4 per cent rise in 2024 and a 6.4 per cent increase in 2023. It comes despite a Treasury impact assessment published last October saying that 'on average, the Government expects private school fees to go up by around 10 per cent as a result of the introduction of VAT'. High Court documents obtained by The Telegraph earlier this year also revealed that Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, was warned Labour's levy on fees could cause an additional 100 private schools to shut over the next three years – something the Government had never admitted in public. Court documents shared with The Telegraph also revealed that Labour deliberately chose the 'most disruptive' start date for the VAT raid on private schools after being presented with a range of options. Ministers toyed with a later start date for the tax but ultimately decided to go with the course of action labelled by civil servants as 'the most disruptive' in order to 'maximise revenue'. The Government is currently embroiled in a High Court battle over its VAT policy after parent groups argued the tax raid is discriminatory. Claimants are seeking a 'declaration of incompatibility' under human rights laws. Although this would not overturn the VAT policy in itself, it could force the Government to take a second look at the tax raid or hand out exemptions. The judicial review was heard in April by three High Court judges, who are expected to issue a single written judgement in the next few weeks. The Government spokesman said: 'Today's figures shatter the myth that charging VAT on private education would trigger an exodus. The data reveals pupil numbers remain firmly within historical patterns seen for over 20 years. 'The 1.9 per cent decline in private school pupil numbers reflects the broader demographic trends and changes in the state sector, with almost no change in secondaries and a 1.3 per cent reduction in state-funded primary school pupil numbers. 'This manufactured crisis has failed to materialise. Ending tax breaks for private schools will raise £1.8 billion a year by 2029/30 to help fund public services, including supporting the 94 per cent of children in state schools, to help ensure excellence everywhere for every child.'
