Commenting on the coroner’s verdict following the inquest into
the death of headteacher Ruth Perry, Geoff Barton, General
Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said:
“The coroner’s verdict must be a catalyst for change.
“Ofsted must immediately improve its policies and training for
inspectors to ensure that inspections are handled sensitively and
compassionately particularly when a headteacher or other staff
are traumatised.
“It is also imperative that the inspection system is reformed to
reduce stakes which are currently far too high because of the
application of one-word or phrase judgements which reduce
everything a school or college does to a label.
“The evidence in this inquest has been heartbreaking. The impact
of an Ofsted inspection on a woman who dedicated her life to
education and who was the much-respected head of a much-valued
school is harrowingly clear.
“This must never happen again.
“Inspections too often have a devastating impact on the mental
health and wellbeing of leaders and staff and drive people out of
a profession where recruitment and retention is in a state of
crisis.
“We absolutely recognise and support the need for public
accountability. But it does not need to break people in the way
the current system does.
“Replacing the current system of graded judgements with a
narrative approach would remove a pressure valve which drives
stress and anxiety while also giving parents a fuller picture of
provision.
“This is a decision which is beyond the remit of Ofsted and it is
up to the government to make this important change. It is
essential that it now acts.”
