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Original poster

Ruth Perry - OFSTED ‘contributed to death of Headteacher’

286 replies

JVJ24601 · 07/12/2023 19:38

The Coroner today recorded that OFSTED contributed to Ruth Perry’s death.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-67612233

An OFSTED inspector - ALAN DERRY - and his lack of professionalism, his lack of fairness, contributed to another human being’s death.

That is not an opinion that is a fact as recorded by the Coroner.

The Coroner also found that “parts of the ALAN DERRY’S inspection were conducted in a manner which lacked fairness”.

Regulators like ALAN DERRY exist to ensure fairness and proper procedures are followed by others. Why did ALAN DERRY allow his inspection to be unfair?

Our children, teachers, support staff and headteachers need immediate protection from an inspection process so appalling that is has contributed to a person’s death.

The Head of OFSTED has announced a day of training next week to fix this issue.

A day of training.

A day of training to help Inspectors not contribute to a person taking their own life. If an organisation needs training so that its employees don’t contribute to the deaths of others - then that organisation is not fit for purpose and its leadership, culture and moral compass are either absent or so woeful and professionally incompetent that they are simply negligent in the duties as a public body.

I believe a crowdfunding page is being established this week to possibly fund and pursue a case of Corporate Manslaughter against OFSTED now that their role in Ruth Perry’s death has been established.

How awful that a system of school inspection has become such a deranged quango. All power and no responsibility is such a toxic mix - and one here that has contributed to the death of another person.

What if another Head or Teacher takes their life in the coming weeks or months because of OFSTED - how awful would that be? How culpable would that make those who do not make seismic changes now.

Unprofessionalism of this level will not be cured by a day’s training and some tweaks.

Only complete and immediate overhaul - led by the SoS for Education and the Government can ensure this tragic event is not repeated in the coming months.

Graphic showing handwriting, a person writing in a notebook, and a headshot of head teacher Ruth Perry

I.N.A.D.E.Q.U.A.T.E - Ruth Perry’s despair in handwritten notes

In the days following an inspection at her school, the head teacher wrote down her innermost thoughts.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-67612233

OP posts:
Thread gallery
27
Wherearemykeysagain · 14/12/2023 00:58

Wouldn’t it be beautiful to have lots and lots of school take their older classes to protest outside the DfE building as a school trip. PSHE/British values in action, surely?!

noblegiraffe · 14/12/2023 07:14

Schools have a legal duty to remain politically neutral.

clopper · 15/12/2023 21:51

The irony though is something to behold. Ofsted as an organisation can solve a problem in 90 mins whereas schools are not given the same chance are they. Endless revisits and reports that go on for months and years.

GrammarTeacher · 16/12/2023 05:26

Indeed! Something filed in slightly the wrong place and sorted as soon as it's pointed out can fail you on safeguarding. Which fails you overall. But they can do this.
as for the quality of the training....

Appuskidu · 16/12/2023 08:53

clopper · 15/12/2023 21:51

The irony though is something to behold. Ofsted as an organisation can solve a problem in 90 mins whereas schools are not given the same chance are they. Endless revisits and reports that go on for months and years.

Exactly!

If head teachers knew they had to ability to just quickly rectify any issues with their staff in a 90 minute training session the following week, there would be far fewer of them on anti-depressants and struggling with their mental health!

Original poster
JVJ24601 · 19/12/2023 22:48

https://schoolsweek.co.uk/ruth-perry-ofsted-and-dfe-given-56-days-to-say-what-action-theyll-take/

So, in the ensuing 56 days - will OFSTED continue to inspect schools - even though their conduct, training, procedures and present failings are potentially so poor that they have contributed to the death of another human being - or will they just do some more Zoom/Teams meetings/training and say it’s (negligent?) business as usual?

Will the SoS have the courage to run the risk of allowing inspections to continue from Jan the 2nd whilst the 56 day deadline remains? Will she run the risk of having a corporate manslaughter/gross negligence/Wednesbury unreasonableness charge being brought against OFSTED/her?

Is it reasonable to hope that OFSTED will have responded and fixed their failings within 56 days? No - it is not. Not reasonable to anyone. Coroners PoFD notices cannot be treated lightly - even by an Inspection Quango like OFSTED and their election anxious SoS.

Will schools be able to defer inspections in the new year until OFSTED comply? Like they could in the week before xmas? If not - why not? What’s changed (apart from a 3 hr zoom training?).

Dear OFSTED please change - someone died. Died.

Ofsted and DfE given 56 days to respond to Ruth Perry report

A coroner has published a prevention of future deaths report following the headteacher's inquest

https://schoolsweek.co.uk/ruth-perry-ofsted-and-dfe-given-56-days-to-say-what-action-theyll-take/

OP posts:
LahnaMJA · 20/12/2023 19:33

My experience of the last two weeks

  • the 90 minute training for lead inspectors didn’t take place ( in my area definitely, not sure about other areas).
  • inspections did not go ahead in most cases. Only one announced in two weeks. Not usual at all in my large LA.
  • HMI had inspections pulled.

Sir Martyn has much to do.

Userxyd · 21/12/2023 04:43

TheCountessofFitzdotterel · 13/12/2023 19:53

I had an interesting conversation with my mum this evening. (As I mentioned upthread she trained as an inspector but never practiced.) She said when she began teaching the HMIs were helpful. They were employed by the local authority so you built up a relationship with them. One said he had been told by his boss when he started, ‘Your job is to leave every school a little bit better than you found it.’

It’s sobering when you think of the situation now, where every school that is downgraded is going to deteriorate as a result as it will become harder to attract staff and students.

In this context, which is a tragedy that was looming for years with people begging Ofsted to improve and DfE pigheadedly ignoring them, this comment about "leave every school a little bit better than you found it" brought a tear to my eye.

cranleighma · 21/12/2023 10:32

@WGACA the coroner's report says it all.

Ofsted is not fit for purpose.
I don't believe Ofsted has any capacity to even know where to start with reviewing and reforming itself. Ofsted should be dismantled with immediate effect imo.

Children, teachers and parents deserve much better. Schools should be inspected and supported in a proper professional manner - ie: utterly unlike how Ofsted do it.

adventangelicat · 21/12/2023 13:00

2 heads unions have released a statement saying inspections are now untenable.

Appuskidu · 21/12/2023 13:16

I don’t think the Tories give a shit about what the unions think-they certainly didn’t during Covid. I suspect they will spend the next few months paying lip service to this coroner report and do a bit of training on spotting signs of anxiety and start asking staff constantly (probably in an intimidating way whilst holding a clipboard) if you’re feeling stressed. They’ve got a phone number for heads to ring if they’re not happy and heads can tell people when their result is bad. I suspect that will be that and they think they’ve listened, until a Labour government get in.

They are focusing on trying to recognise the stress, not making any attempt to reduce it!

What they should be going is scrapping Deep Dives (at least in primary-I can’t really comment on secondary), separating safeguarding from the main inspection, ending the One-word ratings, stopping any sort of link between your Ofsted grade and forced academisation. GK said to Ruth’s sister (from listening to the Women’s Hour interview) that the one -word judgement was something she wouldn’t budge on and I doubt the new Ofsted head can change that on his own. I think that would be the best single change they could make.

Original poster
JVJ24601 · 21/12/2023 13:54

I agree - the Tories response will tell the electorate if they are serious about fighting the next election - if it’s all “training this, lessons to be learnt, moving forward blah blah” we know they aren’t even bothered about fighting for seats (or being a decent opposition?). If they act decisively and take away overall single grades (but keep them for the individual areas) then they could make a simple change that keeps OFSTED and schools focussed but takes away the thing that clearly killed Ruth Perry.

I’m not expecting anything as GK clearly had no authority or leadership herself. Will the Tories instruct her to act or sit right and go down with the ship?

Again - training and tweaks won’t cut the mustard now - someone died - will the government act?

OP posts:
Appuskidu · 21/12/2023 14:03

Unfortunately, I still think that there is a swathe of society (probably a lot of Tories) who believe that the level of scrutiny teachers are under is just and reasonable and if they don’t like it, they aren’t up to it, are too emotional and shouldn’t be in the job. The DM would probably call them ‘woke’.

The fact that there aren’t very many emotionless hard as nails people who never get stressed and want to be head teachers for a government who treat them abysmally waiting in the wings to take over, doesn’t seem to bother them though?!!

UsingChangeofName · 21/12/2023 23:03

They are focusing on trying to recognise the stress, not making any attempt to reduce it!

What they should be going is scrapping Deep Dives (at least in primary-I can’t really comment on secondary), separating safeguarding from the main inspection, ending the One-word ratings, stopping any sort of link between your Ofsted grade and forced academisation. GK said to Ruth’s sister (from listening to the Women’s Hour interview) that the one -word judgement was something she wouldn’t budge on and I doubt the new Ofsted head can change that on his own. I think that would be the best single change they could make.

This. All of this.

EveSix · 21/12/2023 23:22

"What they should be going is scrapping Deep Dives (at least in primary -I can’t really comment on secondary), separating safeguarding from the main inspection, ending the One-word ratings, stopping any sort of link between your Ofsted grade and forced academisation. GK said to Ruth’s sister (from listening to the Women’s Hour interview) that the one -word judgement was something she wouldn’t budge on and I doubt the new Ofsted head can change that on his own. I think that would be the best single change they could make."

Absolutely, Appuskidu. My LA is pushing hours of Deep Dive training on subject leaders, leading to inevitable hours upon hours spent each term creating evidence, drilling pupils as subject ambassadors and endless poring over Deep Dive preparation question sheets published by well-meaning advisors, swotting up. There are only so many hours in a teacher's day and among our primary school staff, the Deep Dive is causing such a lot of stress. It's almost like the bad old days, when individual classes / teachers were given special mention in the reports; there is only one, easily identifiable subject leader, after all, and a poor Deep Dive in one's subject can seal a school's fate.

I'm now looking for a way out.

Honolululu · 22/12/2023 10:32

I'm in a small (very very small) school and lead 4 subjects. I'm also part-time. Nearly every document has been produced either whilst the children are in bed or whilst I've paid to put two of them in childcare in the holidays. It's a double whammy because workload is already much, much higher in a small school so it takes me the working week just to teach, before I begin to start producing documents. I've worked in the private sector, have run my own business and am an experienced teacher - I know how to manage my time but there is no time for what you are expected to produce for deep dives!

EveSix · 22/12/2023 12:37

Honolululu, snap ‐100% my experience.

Putting a stop to the Deep Dive protocol would take such a huge load off teachers and leadership. Speaking to subject leader colleagues (in primary, we are generally not subject specialists and often lead multiple subjects), it is easily the greatest stressor and the thing which takes up an inordinate amount of time for the least impact.

Paying to put my DC in extra childcare, over and above what they're already in, so that I can manage Deep Dive prep which may or may not be scrutinised but never the less needs to be prepared, is such a killer.

crumblingschools · 22/12/2023 14:38

Ironically the inspectors aren’t experts on the Deep Dive subjects either

Appuskidu · 22/12/2023 14:51

Deep Dives in Primary are absolutely causing huge levels of work where teachers across the country are taking hours and hours producing virtually the same documents individually for their subject/s. It’s just such a waste of time and really stressing people out. None of this was deemed necessary before this latest incarnation of Ofsted and when it changes, something else will need to be instead/as well.

I taught perfectly well before I put together a DT curriculum map and vocabulary overview for the whole school which the Ofsted inspector never looked at but I had to complete despite never teaching DT and having no time or pay allocated to the subject leadership, let alone qualifications in DT! The time and effort expected for all these ‘extras’ benefits nobody.

Lots of people outside of education say, ‘oh, you shouldn’t be doing things just for Ofsted, just do a Good job every day and it will be fine’ but I would suggest those people have absolutely no idea what they’re talking about!

WGACA · 02/01/2024 09:43

Interesting article, thank you. Let’s see what happens…

tilsmumsy · 02/01/2024 10:02

He's got good credentials, having worked in some tough jobs in disadvantaged areas. I like what he's said so far. Let's see how it pans out in reality.

One reform I think would help is to get rid of a lot of the full time HMIs who've never run a school themselves. There needs to be a core of full time inspectors but it should be slimmed down so a larger proportion are serving heads who carry out inspections alongside their headship role.

In my experience as a secondary school teacher, the inspectors who are continuing to work in schools day in day out have far more credibility and competence than a lot of the full time HMIs who in some cases have clearly escaped from the demands of hands on leadership because telling others how to do the job is far easier than doing it themselves

Appuskidu · 02/01/2024 10:18

Well, he has to be an improvement on the last one, as he’s actually been a teacher/Head.

I do worry though that the focus still seems to be on training HMI to recognise stress rather than doing anything about reducing it. He also says that the single word judgement issue is down to the DfE and GK has already said she has no intention of removing that. If he isn’t changing the framework and isn’t removing the one-word judgement (with all the high stakes that accompany it), then isn’t it just tinkering around the edges? How was it Estyn could just decide to remove the one-word judgement almost overnight in Wales after Ruth’s suicide was reported on?