Latest news with #RuthPerry
The Independent
15-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Controversial ex-Ofsted chief warns against ‘vilifying' public bodies
A former Ofsted chief inspector, who led the watchdog when a headteacher took her own life, has warned against 'casually vilifying' public bodies. In her maiden speech in the House of Lords, Baroness Amanda Spielman said it can be 'easy' to label those having to make difficult decisions as 'soulless and unfair'. The new Conservative peer also used her speech to say she finds it 'worrying when the interests of children are subordinated to those of adults'. Lady Spielman was Ofsted chief inspector when Ruth Perry died in 2023 after a report downgraded her Caversham Primary School in Reading, Berkshire, from its highest rating to its lowest over safeguarding concerns. An inquest into the headteacher's death found the inspection was a contributory factor. Ofsted's response to the tragedy was subsequently criticised as 'defensive and complacent' by an independent review. Professor Julia Waters, Ms Perry's sister, said the ex-head of Ofsted being 'rewarded' with a peerage was 'a disgrace and an insult' to her sibling's memory. Lady Spielman made her first speech in the Lords during the second reading of the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill, which aims to crack down on fraud against the public purse. The former watchdog chief said: 'Among the millions of decisions made by public authorities, there will always be difficult and borderline cases. 'Where, say, a claim in such a case is properly refused, it can be easy for a disappointed claimant to paint the public body and the individual decision-makers as soulless and unfair. 'And yet that authority and its staff should not be casually vilified. 'True fairness of all citizens, young and old, and maintaining that all important social contract, depends on those people having the skills and the confidence to make those difficult calls, humanely but without partiality.' Lady Spielman, who led Ofsted for seven years, said they made an inspection model 'based on professional dialogue, grounded in evidence and emphasising educational substance and integrity'. She said: 'Ofsted does sometimes have to report findings that are profoundly uncomfortable for those whose failings are exposed. 'Incompetence is one dimension and ethical slippage is the other. 'And I use that term because fraud, which is the main focus of this Bill, sits at one end of an ethical spectrum. 'Some behaviour can be considered unethical to a greater or lesser extent. 'For example, it's worrying when the interests of children are subordinated to those of adults, contrary to the principles that underlie the policies of successive governments. 'It isn't criminal, but it can harm children.' The Government announced last year that headline Ofsted grades for overall effectiveness for schools in England would be scrapped following Ms Perry's death. Previously, the watchdog awarded one of four single-phrase inspection judgements: outstanding, good, requires improvement and inadequate. In February, Ofsted launched a consultation on its plans to introduce a report card system for grading schools in England. However, critics, including Prof Waters, have urged for a delay, warning of 'real concerns' the proposals could drive 'excessive pressure, ill-health and stress for the profession'. In March, Lady Spielman publicly criticised Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson and her proposed school reforms that would curb the freedoms of academies. She said the legislation was likely to make education in England worse, and accused Ms Phillipson of being 'influenced' by the unions. Lady Spielman was rebuked at the time by a Government source, who claimed she should 'spend less time criticising the reforms this Government is bringing, and more time reflecting on her failure at Ofsted'.
BBC News
28-04-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Ruth Perry's sister calls for delays to 'rushed' Ofsted reforms
The sister of a head teacher who took her own life after her school was downgraded in an Ofsted inspection, has warned the proposed new system for assessing schools has the "same risks" as before. Ruth Perry's sister, Julia Waters, joined education professionals in an open letter to Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson in asking for delays to the plans which she said are "rushed" and "fail to learn" from Ms Perry's has proposed a new system which involves report cards and is due to come in this autumn, rather than the old one or two-word Department for Education (DfE) said reforms played a "central" role in work to raise school standards. Ms Perry took her own life after her school, Caversham Primary in Berkshire, was downgraded from "outstanding" to "inadequate".An inquest into her death heard how she felt "powerless" and believed her career could be over after the inspection in November proposed new system of Ofsted inspections will no longer give a single overall grade to an on Today on BBC Radio 4, Prof Waters said there was "no evidence the new system will work"."The proposal that's coming out, in this new report card, just fundamentally fails to address the key concern which is the very real and present risk of more terrible and preventable deaths like my sister's."My very real fear is the introduction of this report card will introduce more areas of inspection, more judgements and really poorly defined criteria," she open letter signed by school leaders, national organisations and former inspectors warned against "excessive pressure, ill-health and stress for the profession"."In particular, we believe the proposed new report cards and the new grading system fail to address the recommendations of the coroner following the tragic, preventable death of Ruth Perry. Ed Barnett-Ward, a parent at Caversham Primary who campaigned for changes to Ofsted inspections following Ms Perry's death, said the proposed changes "don't go far enough".He said: "Our argument was never simply about the removal of single word judgements which we have managed to achieve. "We need to have a system that gets rid of excessive pressure, inconsistency and we need to get a fair independent complaint process," he Education Union general secretary Daniel Kebede said Ofsted needed to "come up with a system of accountability that reduced pressure on schools"."But the reality is it's turned into a big ignore and we are facing a big disaster," he DfE said it wanted to make inspections "more powerful" and "more transparent". "The system this Government inherited was high stakes for teachers but low information for parents, which is why we're removing single-word judgments and introducing school report cards".It said answers to Ofsted's and the department's consultations would be carefully considered before an approach is finalised. If you have been affected by any of the issues in this story you can find information and support on the BBC Actionline website here. You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
The Independent
28-04-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Ruth Perry's sister urges Government to halt Ofsted changes after headteacher's suicide
The sister of a headteacher who killed herself following a negative Ofsted report has added her voice to growing calls for the Government to postpone planned changes to school inspections. Ruth Perry died in January 2023 after her Caversham Primary School in Reading was downgraded to the lowest rating due to safeguarding concerns. In an open letter addressed to Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, Ms Perry's sister, Professor Julia Waters, has joined a chorus of school leaders, national organisations, and former inspectors expressing "real concerns" that the proposed changes could exacerbate pressure on education professionals, potentially leading to further ill-health and stress. The letter, released on Monday, argues that the new system risks perpetuating a detrimental impact on the wellbeing of staff and affecting students' school experiences. 'In particular, we believe the proposed new report cards and the new grading system fail to address the recommendations of the coroner following the tragic, preventable death of Ruth Perry,' the letter read. 'They also fail to address the recommendations of the Education Select Committee's inquiry into the work of Ofsted, which was launched as a result of wider concerns highlighted by Ruth's terrible death.' Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Professor Waters said the proposed new system was 'not safe'. 'It's the same grade-based systems, the same risks that were identified in the system that had such a devastating effect on my sister and has on other headteachers are still there. 'It is still a system that's based on shame, it's still a system that's based on competition rather than support.' A Department for Education spokeswoman said reforms play a 'central' role in work to raise school standards. 'The system this Government inherited was high stakes for teachers but low information for parents, which is why we're removing single-word judgment and introducing school report cards,' she said. 'Both Ofsted's and the department's consultations have provided an important opportunity for everyone to have their say and both organisations will carefully consider all responses before finalising the approach.' A motion passed at the National Education Union conference in Harrogate earlier in April called on the union's executive to renew its campaign to 'expose the harm, damage and cover-up' from the watchdog, and to instead call for an 'effective and fair' school improvement system with no 'ranking and shaming'. It added that members who 'take action to protect themselves to keep safe where they have evidence that Ofsted is placing them in serious and imminent danger of harm or death' should be supported. The Government announced in 2024 that . Previously, Ofsted awarded one of four single-phrase inspection judgments: outstanding, good, requires improvement and inadequate. The move came after Ofsted faced criticism following Ms Perry's death. In February, Ofsted launched a consultation on its plans to introduce a report card system for grading schools in England. Schools could be graded across eight to 10 areas of a provision, including attendance, inclusion and behaviour, using a colour-coded five-point scale. They would receive ratings, from the red-coloured 'causing concern' to orange-coloured 'attention needed', through the green shades of 'secure', 'strong' and 'exemplary' for each area of practice. A survey of more than 12,000 NEU teacher members in English state schools, released at the union's annual conference, suggests the majority (57 per cent) feel inspection negatively affects their mental health.
The Guardian
28-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Ruth Perry's sister joins calls to pause proposed Ofsted overhaul
The sister of a headteacher who took her own life after an Ofsted report has accused the government of ignoring a coroner's findings into her death by failing to change the school inspection regime. In 2023, a coroner ruled that an Ofsted assessment that sharply downgraded Caversham primary school in Reading, contributed to the death of Ruth Perry. On Monday, Perry's sister Prof Julia Waters urged the government to pause its overhaul of Ofsted because she said they would leave in place an inspection system that was unsafe because it was 'based on shame'. Speaking on Radio 4's Today programme, Waters said: 'There needs to be a system that is supportive, that's safe, that's fair, and that takes very real warnings of the coroner at my sister's inquest seriously, and doesn't just try to ignore them and pretend that everything's OK.' She added: 'At the inquest into my sister's death, the coroner warned that there was a risk of future deaths if only lip service was paid to learning from tragedies like Ruth's death. 'But in launching their consultations, neither Ofsted nor the Department for Education even referred to Ruth's death. Instead, they have proposed a new system that is really the old system with a few tweaks around the edges and is not the radical reform that's needed.' Waters joined school leaders, national organisations and former inspectors in writing an open letter to the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, to call for a rethink of proposed changes to the inspection regime. She said: 'It is still a system that's based on shame. Is still a system that's based on competition rather than support. It's still a system in which headteachers risk losing their jobs because of an inspection that's unreliable.' The letter to Phillipson states: 'We believe the proposed new system will continue to have a detrimental impact on the wellbeing of education staff and hence on students' school experience. 'In particular, we believe the proposed new report cards and the new grading system fail to address the recommendations of the coroner following the tragic, preventable death of Ruth Perry. 'They also fail to address the recommendations of the education select committee's inquiry into the work of Ofsted, which was launched as a result of wider concerns highlighted by Ruth's terrible death.' A Department for Education spokesperson said the proposed changes played a 'central' role in its work to raise school standards. 'The system this government inherited was high stakes for teachers but low information for parents, which is why we're removing single-word judgment and introducing school report cards,' the spokesperson added. 'Both Ofsted's and the department's consultations have provided an important opportunity for everyone to have their say and both organisations will carefully consider all responses before finalising the approach.' The government announced last year that headline Ofsted grades for overall effectiveness for schools in England would be scrapped. Previously, the regulator awarded one of four single-phrase inspection judgments: outstanding, good, requires improvement and inadequate. In February, Ofsted launched a consultation on its plans to introduce a report card system that would grade schools in England across eight to 10 areas of a provision, including attendance, inclusion and behaviour, using a colour-coded five-point scale. They would receive ratings – from the red 'causing concern' to orange 'attention needed' through the green shades of 'secure', 'strong' and 'exemplary' – for each area of practice. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@ or jo@ In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 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
Sky News
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
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.
