Stopping inspections would not be in the best interests of children, the head of the schools watchdog in England has said after calls for them to be paused following the death of headteacher Ruth Perry. Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman acknowledged the debate about reforming inspections to remove grades “is a legitimate one” but insisted school checks should continue.
Three unions representing teachers and heads this week urged Ofsted to pause inspections and Reading Borough Council also called for a pause while a review was carried out into the system. Ms Perry, head at Caversham Primary School in Reading, killed herself in January while waiting for an Ofsted report which had downgraded her school to the lowest possible rating, according to her family.
In a statement, Ms Spielman described Ms Perry’s death as “a tragedy” and said she was “deeply sorry” for the loss suffered by her family, friends and the school community. She said the news had been “met with great sadness at Ofsted” and acknowledged that school inspections “can be challenging”. But she added that inspectors always aimed to carry them out with “sensitivity" and "professionalism”.
She said: “The sad news about Ruth has led to an understandable outpouring of grief and anger from many people in education. There have been suggestions about refusing to co-operate with inspections, and union calls to halt them entirely. I don’t believe that stopping or preventing inspections would be in children’s best interests. Our aim is to raise standards so that all children get a great education. It is an aim we share with every teacher in every school."
Ms Spielman said it was “unquestionably a difficult time to be a headteacher” with school staff having worked during the pandemic to keep schools open “while keeping vulnerable children safe”. She said the “broader debate about reforming inspections to remove grades is a legitimate one” but added that it “shouldn’t lose sight of how grades are currently used”.
She said inspection grades allowed parents to see a “simple and accessible summary of a school’s strengths and weaknesses” and were used to guide decisions on intervening in struggling schools. She said: “Any changes to the current system would have to meet the needs both of parents and of government."
However, Rebecca Leek, executive director of Suffolk Primary Headteachers’ Association, disagreed with Ms Spielman’s claims of sensitivity and professionalism. She told the PA news agency: “The experiences of school leaders are to the contrary.”
Meanwhile, the National Association of Head Teachers union said the decision not to pause inspections had been “a terrible mistake” which “serves to reinforce the view that Ofsted is tin-eared and shows scant regard for the wellbeing of school leaders”. Paul Whiteman, its general secretary, said “warm words and sympathy” were welcome but not enough and argued this should be a “watershed moment” for a "new approach to school inspection”.
He said: “School leaders want to see tangible actions being taken to reduce the intolerable pressure that the current inspection regime places on everyone in schools, and they want to see those actions now. We are not against inspections per se, we simply believe that a fairer, more humane approach is possible. We also believe parents would support a new approach.”
The National Education Union said replacing Ofsted with a new agency “would be good for children”. Deputy general secretary Niamh Sweeney said: “What is not in children’s best interests is head teacher burnout and beloved class teachers leaving. What is not in children’s interests is ploughing on with a pretence that this is the only approach to inspecting schools."
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The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) said the union has asked Ofsted to pause inspections rather than halt them entirely, calling it “a very moderate request”. General secretary Geoff Barton said: “The death of Ruth Perry is an extreme example of the damage done by the high-stakes nature of the inspection system, but the truth is that it often has a catastrophic effect on individuals.
“A short pause to inspections to consider this matter seems a very moderate request, and would help Ofsted show the profession that it is listening.”
In a letter to Ofsted on Wednesday, school and college leaders across Reading said they wanted the “terrible tragedy to mark a turning point” in the way school inspections were carried out.
Schools have been removing logos and references to Ofsted ratings from their websites as a mark of solidarity with Ms Perry and heads said they planned to stage peaceful protests – including wearing black clothing and armbands and displaying photographs of Ms Perry around the school – when Ofsted inspections took place.
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