Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and
College Leaders, and Paul Whiteman, General Secretary of the
National Association of Head Teachers, today issued the following
joint statement following last week’s inquest into the death of
headteacher Ruth Perry and the coroner’s conclusions:
“We are calling for an immediate pause to Ofsted inspections to
allow time for meaningful action to be taken to address the
concerns raised by the coroner in the inquest into the death of
Ruth Perry.
“The coroner set out seven areas of concern for her Regulation 28
Report to prevent future deaths. It is important that we have
clarity from Ofsted about a plan and timetable to address each
area before further inspections take place. This is vital in
reassuring schools and colleges that appropriate steps are being
taken to protect and support the welfare of education staff.
“Ofsted Chief Inspector Amanda Spielman issued a statement last
week outlining some steps in response to the coroner’s concerns
including a delay to inspections of a single day to bring
together lead school inspectors. We do not think this goes nearly
far enough. We will be writing to Education Secretary and the Chief Inspector
formally requesting an immediate pause to inspections to give
space for proper consideration. This is necessary for schools and
colleges to have even a modicum of confidence in the
inspectorate.
“We have also spoken about our concerns to the incoming Chief
Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver, who begins his term of office in
January, and we have arranged for a formal meeting with him as
soon as he takes up his post.”
