Ofsted will launch an independent learning review of its actions after Ruth Perry’s death, it announced today.
The watchdog’s chief inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver, has published the inspectorate’s response to the coroner in Ms Perry’s inquest, who warned that there was a risk of future deaths unless action was taken to change school inspections.
The inspectorate will appoint an independent education expert in March to review its “internal policies and processes for responding to tragic incidents”.
As part of its response to the coroner’s concerns, Ofsted is also publishing a policy today setting out how inspectors and responsible bodies for schools can ask to pause an inspection if it is thought that a headteacher needs additional support.
The watchdog will also be reviewing whether it should introduce a separate safeguarding judgement for schools.
School leaders’ unions welcomed the Ofsted proposals but warned that more needs to be done to ease the stress of inspection rather than just “tackling the symptoms”.
Sir Martyn said: “As a fellow headteacher, I was shocked and saddened by the death of Ruth Perry. I am determined to do everything in my power to prevent such tragedies in the future.”
He added that the watchdog “cannot afford to shy away from difficult decisions and challenging conversations”.
“I am determined that we get this delicate balance right,” he said.
In Ofsted’s report he said: “I would like to express my deepest condolences to Ruth’s family and friends and apologise sincerely for the part our inspection of her school played in her death. As the new HMCI, I will do everything in my power to help ensure that inspections are carried out with professionalism, courtesy, empathy and respect and with consideration for staff welfare,” adding “no one should feel as Ruth did”.
In December unions jointly called for an “immediate pause” to inspections following a coroner’s finding that an Ofsted inspection likely contributed to Ms Perry’s death.
The school leader took her own life after an Ofsted report downgraded her school, Caversham Primary in Reading, from the watchdog’s highest rating to its lowest over safeguarding concerns.
Ofsted response to Ruth Perry report
Commenting on Ofsted’s response, Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: “The actions taken by Ofsted do not address all the problems with the inspection system, but they are positive steps in the right direction.”
But Mr Barton stressed that the real test of the new measures will be what actually happens on the ground in inspections.
“We will be asking our members to give us feedback about how inspections are going in their settings and whether they are seeing a more supportive approach,” he said.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT, agreed that Ofsted’s response was a step in the right direction, but warned that more needed to be done to tackle “underlying issues”.
“Some of these proposals have the potential to improve certain aspects of inspection,” he said. “But Ofsted urgently needs to start addressing the underlying issues that are causing the stress and pressure on schools, rather just tackling the symptoms.”
Routine school inspections will resume next week and lead inspectors will talk through the latest changes with schools during inspection notification calls.
Ofsted has said that inspectors who have not completed mental health training this month will not be able to lead an inspection. Inspectors who have not completed the training by the end of March will not be permitted to be involved in inspections at all until such training has taken place.
Yesterday a poll issued by the NEU teaching union showed that more than half of teacher respondents (58 per cent) did not think the inspector training would make any meaningful difference.
Commenting on Ofsted’s response to the coroner today, Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the NEU, said: “The measures proposed by Ofsted in response to the senior coroner’s report do not match the scale of the problem that it inflicts on schools.”
Ms Perry’s sister, Professor Julia Waters, said Ofsted’s new direction was “encouraging”, but “much work now needs to be done to bring about the radical overhaul to the culture of school inspections”.
She added: “Had these reforms been in place just over a year ago, perhaps my beautiful sister Ruth might still be with us today.
“The responses from Ofsted and the Department for Education go some way to addressing the concerns raised by the coroner and our family about the brutality of the current inspection system. Much work now needs to be done to bring about the radical overhaul to the culture of school inspections, so that a tragedy like Ruth’s cannot happen again.”
Safeguarding judgement review
Sir Martyn has said Ofsted will shortly launch a Big Listen consultation, which aims to hear from all of the sectors that it inspects.
Details of what the Big Listen will involve will be published by March, and the watchdog will finish gathering responses by June.
As part of this Ofsted will also conduct an internal review of how it judges safeguarding in schools.
Currently schools will receive an “inadequate” grade overall and “inadequate” leadership and management grade if they are judged to be ineffective on safeguarding.
But Ofsted is to explore having safeguarding as a standalone judgement, so it would be decoupled from the leadership and management grade.
CST chief executive Leora Cruddas said: “This response to the coroner’s report and the dialogue we have had so far with Sir Martyn indicates that Ofsted is open to change.”
However, Ms Cruddas added that it is “important that future reforms consider the wider accountability system, not just inspection”. “More substantial reforms need to be carefully considered and discussed,” she said.
DfE ‘prioritising headteacher welfare’
The Department for Education has also sent a response to the coroner today.
It said it is ”committed to helping to avoid future tragedies” by working with local authorities and school trusts to “ensure that appropriate support is made available to school leaders following an adverse inspection result”.
The DfE also said its safeguarding guidance will be reviewed and a call for evidence will be launched in the spring, asking the sector for views on how to go further to support school leaders on safeguarding.
In a letter to coroner Heidi Connor, education secretary Gillian Keegan said the DfE has reviewed its position on intervening in schools that have been found to be “inadequate” on the basis of safeguarding concerns.
Ms Keegan has said that where schools are reinspected by Ofsted within three months and safeguarding issues have been addressed then DfE will not take the process of intervention any further. The DfE issues academy orders and can rebroker schools that are judged to be “inadequate”.
She added that the department has also reviewed how it communicates with schools where it is considering intervening to prioritise headteacher welfare and to ensure all contact is “undertaken sensitively and with full consideration of the possible impact on school leaders”.
In her letter, the education secretary also said that training has been given to staff in its regions group and is being rolled out to staff in the Education Skills and Funding Agency on how to manage difficult conversations.
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