The sister of Ruth Perry, the headteacher who killed herself after an Ofsted inspection downgraded her school, has appealed to any teachers or school leaders considering suicide to think again, describing it as “a terrible, wrong-headed option”.
In an emotional address to delegates attending the annual conference of the National Education Union in Bournemouth on Friday, Prof Julia Waters appealed directly to teachers and headteachers who may be struggling, urging them to seek help.
She shared a touching video of her sister, recorded during lockdown, in which she addressed her pupils, offering them reassurance, urging them to be hopeful and kind to each other, and promising them a party when the pandemic was over.
It is the first footage the family have shared of Perry since she killed herself last year after Caversham primary school in Reading, which she had led for more than a decade, was downgraded from Ofsted’s highest grade, outstanding, to its lowest, inadequate.
Berkshire’s senior coroner ruled that her suicide was “contributed to by an Ofsted inspection”, after an inquest heard testimony from colleagues and medical professionals about the mental distress Perry suffered during and after the inspection.
Waters told headteachers struggling under the pressure: “You are trapped by an inhumane, unaccountable inspection system but you don’t have to put up with it any more. If you feel despair, you need help and hope, not to think that suicide is a way out. Get help. Talk to those you love. You are not alone.”
Waters, who has campaigned for far-reaching reform of Ofsted – though she is not in favour of its abolition – said she was “cautiously optimistic” that the new chief inspector of schools, Martyn Oliver, had the determination to drive through real change.
“Yet, despite the promising start, there seems to be a lot of passing the buck going on between the government and Ofsted. There seems to be a lot of unnecessary delay,” she continued.
“Sir Martyn now says we will have to wait until after the general election for any major changes. How many more teachers will suffer from an inherently flawed, badly run inspection process in the meantime? How many more children will lose another dedicated headteacher to a forced resignation, a nervous breakdown or worse? Delays and obfuscation put more lives at risk. It’s not acceptable to play politics with people’s wellbeing.”
This week Ofsted’s former chief inspector Amanda Spielman refused to concede that her organisation made errors in its handling of the Caversham inspection.
Under Oliver, Ofsted has launched a Big Listen public consultation, seeking views about the inspectorate, and new guidance has been published on how to ask for an inspection to be paused if staff show signs of distress.
Oliver said: “Our work keeps children safe and improves their lives. But we are ambitious to improve. That is why we are carrying out a Big Listen. We want to hear from everyone we work with, including teachers, social workers, nursery staff and college lecturers. Crucially, we also want to hear from the parents and children we work for.”
After receiving a standing ovation for her speech, Waters told reporters she hoped she had helped headteachers to stand up for themselves and complain about Ofsted where necessary, and that parents were more aware of the flaws in the system.
Asked if she was concerned that if action was not taken soon there could be more deaths, she said: “Yes. The issues that so badly affected my sister are still there, baked into the system. And a couple of those have been addressed but most of them are still there. So yes, I am concerned.”
In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org.
