An independent inquiry into the death of the Reading headteacher Ruth Perry has called for an end to England’s “macho culture” of inspections and school accountability.
The review, commissioned by Reading borough council after Perry’s suicide last year, said the tragedy should “highlight the folly of the macho culture of high-stakes accountability” inflicted on England’s schools.
The review’s authors said: “In the United Kingdom there is a history of public reports which, by accident or design, have led to the public excoriation of individuals. If Ruth’s death tells us anything, it is that that practice must stop. Our public services are run and delivered by human beings.”
Perry killed herself after an Ofsted inspection of Caversham primary school – which she had led for more than a decade – downgraded it from outstanding to inadequate, the lowest grade. At Perry’s inquest, Berkshire’s senior coroner found that the inspection had contributed to Perry’s death, and she described Ofsted’s conduct as “rude and intimidating”.
Under the Department for Education’s rules, a local authority-maintained school judged to be inadequate can be forced to become an academy, leading Perry to fear she would lose her job and have to leave the profession.
Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, said the government “will do everything in its power to prevent anything like that happening ever again”.
She said: “Schools are under enormous pressure and while accountability is crucial, the wellbeing of our teachers and school staff has been for too long an afterthought. Change is needed – and it’s coming. We will reform Ofsted, replacing single-headline grades with a new report card system.”
Labour’s election manifesto included a pledge to end the use of one-word summary judgments. Reading’s review criticised “the spurious notion that only a one-word judgment can adequately describe the quality of a school to parents and communities”.
A spokesperson for Ofsted said the inspectorate had accepted the coroner’s findings in full, was carrying out its “Big Listen” public consultation on its future and holding an independent review of its handling of Perry’s death. The review and the consultation findings are expected to be published in the autumn.
Reading’s independent review, carried out by two former senior Hampshire children’s services officials, described how “overstretched and underfunded” local authorities had been left with ill-defined responsibilities for schools and their staff that even Ofsted inspectors did not grasp.
The authors said the council was “effectively hamstrung in their ability to provide high-quality support for their school leaders by a combination of both policy and funding constraints”.
Julia Waters, Perry’s sister, said: “The report’s overriding conclusion is frightening. It effectively highlights how local authorities lack the resources, power, authority and processes to look after their employees effectively when faced with the trauma of a punishing Ofsted inspection.
“This report provides further alarming evidence, if any more evidence were needed, of a system of school inspection that is so contorted by educational underfunding and perverse incentives that state schools can no longer keep staff safe, with children and parents suffering the consequences.”
Paul Whiteman, the general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said the findings were “further evidence of the harm that England’s outdated and punitive accountability system carries”.
Jackie Yates, Reading borough council’s chief executive, said her council acknowledged areas for improvement in its performance that were highlighted in the review.
The full report will be discussed by the council next week, alongside recommendations that it lobby for the ending of forced academisation and one-word judgments.
“It is our strong belief that this discussion should ultimately lead to positive changes that support our headteachers, and which debunk the myth that the current approach provides improvements in the quality of education for our children,” Yates said.
Waters called the review “disappointing” after it failed to address concerns raised by the coroner about the council’s involvement during and after the inspection.
“The report fails to ask key questions about what Reading borough council could have done as her employer to support Ruth better. As a result, it fails to identify the actions that could have been taken by the council which might have helped to prevent her death,” Waters said.
In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
