(TW : discussion of Ruth Perry's suicide) To feel uncomfortable with the way Ruth Perry's death was described as 'the fault' of Ofsted?

The Ofsted inspection was shown to have contributed, but it's not just bad inspections themselves that make a difference, it's also the culture around them and the pressure of single word judgements even in the community. That school was the one everyone wanted to live in the catchment of for years. That local pressure isn't something headteachers seek but it's still there, and it makes it all even worse.

A one word judgment by itself isn't even a sound basis on which to choose a school, and yet when you first start looking at schools that feels like the most important thing to look at, so parents contribute to building up the pressure even more.

It's frustrating that there are journalists and opinion piece writers who set up the straw man that people who knew her somehow want schools to be let off any failings. Actually Sarah Ditum was one and it's really lowered my opinion of her.

A system that to date has essentially seen a small number of suicides as acceptable collateral damage just isn't fit for purpose. You can still have complete accountability without that, you just have to be willing to try.

I understand the point you are making.

In the round, you are not wrong that suicide isn’t often the result of one particular event. Indeed, the Samaritan’s media guidelines remind journalists (like me) of this, and warn against implying things are ever that neat.

However, you are wrong on this, and wrong to compare it to the poor data on trans identity and suicide.

The coroner has a duty, if he or she believes something has contributed to a death, to make that clear. In this case, the coroner believed a government process had contributed to a death, which is why as part of her job, she highlighted this. It’s a warning that there is something wrong here, and that others could be at risk.

Journalists can and should report exactly what happened in court. That is why they reported the findings. They didn’t (mustn’t) put in caveats, or pretend she found something less dramatic, or water it down. Court reporting involves telling the public exactly what the judgement is. It’s a key part of having open justice.

And this, it seems you’re keen to say others are not to blame in Ruth Perry, Caroline Flack, but trans? It’s because others were awful and didn’t do as they were told, so their fault?

I think the OP's point is that all the cases she's mentioned blame a third party for the individual's suicide. Her contention, along with others, is that it is a personal decision and it is wrong to blame external factors.

We shouldn't blame Ofsted for Ruth Perry's suicide.
We shouldn't blame the media for Caroline Flack's suicide.
We shouldn't blame Leelah's parents for Leelah's suicide.

I don't necessarily agree, but I think her argument is clear.

@beezlebubnicky absolutely not saying that Ofsted and others who inflict pain on people don’t need to take full responsibility for their actions.

@Lemonsugarpancakes I understand what you're trying to say, but no way would Ruth Perry have become a headteacher if she lacked resilience and sense of self. By all accounts she was very good at her job. Resilience can be worn down by repeated stress, like trying to survive as a school leader in today's high-stakes, high-accountability environment where schools have been bled dry of funding and Ofsted requirements have become a stick to beat people with.

The changes are welcome such as an end to single headline grades, but they're not enough. Schools need evaluation but Ofsted is rotten to the core, it needs to be overhauled or rebuilt as something completely different.

Yet you’re blaming people with regards to ‘Leelah’ @Carla786 American born male, attracted to males, but wanted to be seen as female, so blamed their parents for not paying for surgery? Again how is that related to a uk teacher bullied by a shitty regulatory body?

Do you think that’s the right thing to do though? Safeguarding is pretty important. If procedures aren’t followed properly, the outcomes can be tragic. I’m not sure that the right thing to do is to brush over it and carry on when failings are identified. How many other high paid professionals can make huge mistakes and stay in their job without consequence?

Obviously the headteacher here needed more support than she had through the process. Suicide is a hive decision to take and then follow through, and if external factors are a contributor, then there has to be others equally as influential.

I think that it’s the system that contributes to such unbearable stress on teachers. There can be a way of holding accountability in a way that is both effective and humane.

@Carla786

The media in CF's case was being blamed not blaming others.

I am also not quite sure why you are so intent on linking trans suicides in to the discussion.

IMO, people don't understand just how guilt driven the job is.

Teachers, want to help and go into the job (and it should be seen as just a job) wanting to make a difference.

The often used meme "won't somebody think of the children" springs to mind.

And the truth is that schools are more often than not run on the goodwill of the teachers, and that is so often just against them.

I don't know what mistake was made with regard to safeguarding, but the emphasis now put on this in schools makes me wonder how this could have happened. I also don't know what was meant by not being able to tell anyone either - where I work all SLT have always been fully in the know. Though our ratings have always been 'good', we'd certainly support each other if they weren't.

But I do think the OFSTED inspection "contributed" to her suicide. Though it can't have been the only cause imo. However committed, however much of a vocation it might be, it's still just a job, just one part of life. Or at least that's how I feel a mentally robust person would view it. There must be lots of former heads who have gone through similar and somehow worked out how to cope.

I don’t agree, @noblegiraffe , because consequences can be worked through and things put back together over time. Even reputation or career can be put back together if in a different trajectory - look at the number of politicians who have recovered from reputational damage and sleaze etc. I’m sure this headteacher would have had nothing as near as that to be ashamed of and yet she felt shame and overwhelmed enough to end it all. So what caused that? It’s an underlying foundation that’s not there - emotional resilience and sense of self.

ETA - I feel it’s very important as society that we understand this and stop with the hand wringing and misunderstanding and helplessness narrative around suicide. Psychologists and anyone who’s worked through their own suicidal feelings (I’m one of those too) know but it’s a really bitter pill to swallow because the answer lies in sorting out the quality of parenting in early childhood. The Princess of Wales gets this.

Thank you it was a long time ago now. As an adult I feel awful for his ex as well; at the time I hated her (unfairly of course) but I now realise how much more complex and difficult it all is.

I do think it was an absolute tragedy but it could have led to some genuine consideration of the stress teachers feel over OFSTED and some reforms as a result. As it is, the one word ratings are back under another guise.

I do think that the media were irresponsible in how the death was reported. There was a good article in one of the broadsheets that addressed this at the time and I am trying to find it and can’t, probably because you have to pay for it! But I will say that the message that self sacrifice is the way to get reform is a very dangerous one.

This disgusting @Carla786 are you the prolific Caroline flack supporter?
in what way are you comparing a woman who invited the press and media into her life, who assaulted someone, with a teacher who had an enforced regulatory body visit who were bullying and aggressive?

I taught for several years in a well known south Central London private school. In my exit interview I told the head my mental health was being ruined by the job. I jad regular suicidal thoughts because of the appalling workload and stress.

I wonder how many of the entirled middle class pushy parents some if whom post their drivel on here, have added to the mental burden that collectively has driven teachers, head and otherwise, to despair.

But it's not just 'shame', it's genuine, real world consequences which can be severe, for people other than yourself.

“the shame”

^ this is the underlying cause. The attachment of what has happened / the situation / job / reputation etc to one’s sense of self.

Ofsted has failed its own inspections several times.

Why should schools, teachers, heads and SLT be subjected to an inspection by a group that has not been able to pass its own inspections?

And lets not forget that Ofsted has changed a lot since its original conception.

Originally HMI inspectors inspected the schools which they then guided to resolve any issues.

Since then it has been a political device to force schools in to compliance and lets not forget at points force them in to becoming parts of academy chains.

Its a system where being good enough (satisfactory) at your job wasn't good enough so they changed it to requires improvement.

At one point it caused so much stress in the teaching community that it was not aloud to give out individual grades to teachers.

Remembering as well that at times teachers have been judged on hoe "engaged" the pupils are and that they are all making "sufficient progress" judged by someone that doesn't know the class or the pupils.

And lets not forget that at one point 'the majority of schools were to be above average' (paraphrased)

Yes schools should be held accountable, but on things that they can actually control, not the rest of the BS that OFSTED puts forward to justify its own existence.