Ruth Perry’s family urge Ofsted chief to quit immediately amid mounting fury at watchdog for ‘inhumane’ and ‘intimidating’ inspection which ‘likely contributed’ to headteacher’s suicide

The family of Ruth Perry have called for the head of Ofsted to resign as anger grows over the watchdog’s response to the headteacher’s death after a coroner found an inspection at her school “likely contributed” to her death.

The leaked letter revealed that Monday’s “national briefing” to inspectors will only consist of a 90-minute question-and-answer session and a half-hour “forum” to address issues raised by Ms Perry’s suicide.

Her sister, Professor Julia Waters, called the response “shocking” and called on Ofsted chief Amanda Spielman to resign before her term expires at the end of this month.

Mrs Perry, 53, was left “completely devastated” after a “frightening” inspection at Caversham Primary School in Reading last year, which was sparked by safety concerns.

The inquest into her death heard Mrs Perry cried during her visit to Ofsted and repeatedly told inspectors: “It doesn’t look good, does it.” Thursday’s hearing concluded the audit “likely contributed” to her death.

Ruth Perry died in January 2023, two months after a “daunting” OFSTED inspection at Caversham Primary School.

Professor Waters reads a statement on behalf of Ruth Perry’s family following the conclusion of the inquest at Reading Town Hall.

Amanda Spielman, Ofsted’s chief inspector, apologized for the distress Mrs Perry “undoubtedly suffered as a result of our inspection”.

In response to the coroner’s findings, Ofsted announced it would delay inspections this week due to training to “recognize and respond to visible signs of alarm” during visits from the regulator.

Talking to The keeperProfessor Waters said the measures did not go far enough and called Ofsted a “mess”, adding that its leaders were “out of touch with reality”.

Main Inspector Spielman apologized to the family following the conclusion of the proceedings.

She said: “Ruth Perry’s death was a tragedy which affected many people deeply. My thoughts remain with her family, the entire Caversham school community and everyone who knew and loved her.

“On behalf of Ofsted, I would like to apologize to them for the distress Mrs Perry has undoubtedly experienced as a result of our inspection.”

She went on to outline some of the measures the watchdog will be taking, saying: “We have started providing training to all inspectors on recognizing and responding to visible signs of alarm.”

She said that “as a first step” inspections would be delayed by one day to “bring all lead inspectors together ahead of further school inspections”.

She said the training would be aimed at ensuring inspectors know what to do if teachers show signs of concern and understand whether an inspection needs to be paused.

But Professor Waters said it was “not enough”.

“If it was Amanda Spielman who was trying to show that she was taking action in response to a damning coroner’s report, then she has clearly lost the plot and is out of ideas,” she told The Guardian.

“She may only have a few weeks left before she must hand over power to her successor, but the need for reform is urgent. She should leave now and let someone else handle it.”

Professor Waters said the findings of an inspection of her sister’s school were “unfair” after the school’s leadership was rated “inadequate” following a visit in November 2022. The school has since been rated ‘outstanding’.

Professor Waters told BBC Breakfast on Friday: “In her report the coroner made it clear that what happened to Ruth was a direct result of contact with this inspectorate, the system within which this inspection was carried out and the resulting consequence of the outcome is a disgrace. humiliation, danger of Ruth losing her job.

“All these things came together. What I said and my family said all along, although obviously there were some really terrible, terrible behaviors in this review – it was unfair, the results were unfair.

“These inspectors work within the system. And it is the system that is the truly dangerous element here. This is a system that needs to change.”

Ofsted has been approached for comment.