Ofsted's one-word rulings could be scrapped after Ruth Perry's suicide (2024)

Ofsted's one-word rulings could be scrapped in the wake of Ruth Perry's suicide after a coroner concluded that the damning inspection contributed to her death.

The headmaster, 53, took her own life in January last year - a month after Caversham Primary School in Reading was downgraded from 'outstanding' to 'inadequate'.

The mother-of-two described the Ofsted ruling as the worst day of her life.

This week the government is expected to announce plans to replace the controversial system, which parents use as a guide when deciding where to send their children to school.

The move by the government is expected to be confirmed on Thursday after they publish an inquiry into the school inspectorate by MPs on the education committee, The Sunday Times reports.

Headmaster Ruth Perry, 53 , (pictured) took her own life in January last year

Ruth's sister Professor Julia Waters (pictured) has been leading a campaign to change the controversial Ofsted system

The inquiry, which was undertaken by MPs last year, had urged the Education Department to develop a different system to the single word judgements 'as a priority'.

Ms Perry had been a pupil at the Berkshire primary school before she taught at the school for 12 years.

A coroner concluded that the November 2022 Ofsted inspection 'likely contributed' to her death.

In January, Ruth's sisterProfessor Julia Waters - who has been leading a campaign to change the rating system - told Ofsted boss Sir Martyn Oliver that it was not enough 'to tell inspectors to be nicer' after an Oftsed inspection contributed to the headteacher sister's suicide.

READ MORE: Heartbreaking footage emerges of Ruth Perry's inspirational lockdown message - as the tragic headteacher tells pupils the importance of 'compassion' shortly before she took her own life after damning Ofsted inspection

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She told Good Morning Britain: 'Something that I made very clear to Sir Martin yesterday in our meeting is that it's not good enough to train Ofsted inspectors to be decent human beings and to identify stress.

'The inspectors in Ruth's inspection wrote in their evidence that she was clearly very distressed but they carried on regardless.

'It's not enough to come in and have these sticking plaster things to sort out the symptoms.

'It's the system that creates that stress that needs to be addressed.

'My sister had no mental health problems prior to the inspection.

'It was the inspection that caused her mental health deterioration and eventually, tragically, led to her death.

'It's the system that needs to change rather than simply coming and in and trying to tell inspectors to be nicer people.'

An inquest had ruled that Mrs Perry took her own life after the watchdog downgraded her primary school from 'outstanding' to 'inadequate'.

The headteacher was left 'completely devastated' in the weeks following the watchdog's 'intimidating' inspection into Caversham Primary School in Reading last year, following safeguarding concerns, the coroner heard.

Speaking on behalf of Mrs Perry's family after the verdict, her sister said: 'Ruth was more than a victim of an inhumane schools inspection system. She was more than a headteacher. Ruth was a wonderful human being.

'Ruth's death has left a deep void in our lives. We all miss her deeply. We miss her every day.'

She continued: 'The Coroner's conclusions validate what our family has known for a long time – that Ruth took her own life as the direct result of the process, outcome and consequences of an Ofsted inspection of the school she led and loved, Caversham Primary School.

A video message of Ruth urging her pupils to 'talk to the people you love' during the Covid-19 pandemic emerged earlier this month

'The inquest into Ruth's death has shown the brutal inhumanity of the system of Ofsted inspections. Ofsted likes to judge people with single-word labels. We could judge the current Ofsted system with our own labels: callous, perverse and inhumane.

'Ruth's death, and this inquest, have laid bare the imbalance of power that exists in our education system.'

Previously, a heartbreaking video of the headmastergiving an inspirational Covid-19 lockdown message to her students before she took her own life after the damning Ofsted inspection.

Her family released the video earlier this monthurging her pupils to 'talk to the people you love, be kind to each other, be hopeful' and to 'take care of yourselves and each other' during the pandemic.

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Ofsted's one-word rulings could be scrapped after Ruth Perry's suicide (2024)

FAQs

Ofsted's one-word rulings could be scrapped after Ruth Perry's suicide? ›

Ruth Perry family furious as Ofsted single-word ratings are retained. Ofsted's controversial single-word judgments are here to stay, the government has ruled, in a blow to campaigners who hoped they would be scrapped after the suicide of the primary school headteacher Ruth Perry.

What is the highest OFSTED rating? ›

∎ effectiveness of leadership and management ∎ quality of teaching, learning and assessment ∎ personal development, behaviour and welfare ∎ outcomes for pupils. In each area, schools are graded on a four-point scale: ∎ grade 1 (outstanding) ∎ grade 2 (good) ∎ grade 3 (requires improvement) ∎ grade 4 (inadequate).

What makes a school an academy in the UK? ›

Academies receive funding directly from the government and are run by an academy trust. They have more control over how they do things than community schools. Academies do not charge fees.

What is a serious weakness Ofsted rating? ›

A school with serious weaknesses will have one or more of the key judgements graded inadequate (grade 4) and/or have important weaknesses in the provision for pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

What is a free school in the UK? ›

Free schools are funded by the government but are not run by the local authority. They have more control over how they do things. They're 'all-ability' schools, so can not use academic selection processes like a grammar school. Free schools can: set their own pay and conditions for staff.

What's the difference between an academy and a high school in the UK? ›

Unlike maintained schools, academies are exempt from following the National Curriculum. Certain subjects, however, must be taught – such as Maths, English and Science. Teaching hours are less controlled than in a maintained school and academies have more free reign to change day and term lengths.

Can a school be called an academy? ›

The term is used widely today to refer to anything from schools to learned societies to funding agencies to private industry associations.

What grade is lifetime Ofsted? ›

Ofsted has officially downgraded England's largest apprenticeship provider to a grade 3, in a report published this morning that criticises the firm's focus on financial performance and starts over quality.

What is the Ofsted rating for the University of Birmingham? ›

University of Birmingham School continues to be 'Good' following its first inspection since 2018. University of Birmingham School was inspected on 16 & 17 May 2023 by Ofsted.

What is SBL Ofsted rating? ›

It has 1192 students from age 11-18 yr with a student-teacher ratio of 17 : 1. This school rated Good by recent Ofsted inspection.

What is the Ofsted rating of Villiers High school? ›

'Outstanding' in every category.

All groups of pupils make exceptional progress and their behaviour in lessons and around the school is excellent.

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