Furious teacher accuses Ofsted of 'murder' following Ruth Perry death
Furious teacher accuses Ofsted of ‘murder’ following the death of Ruth Perry as union rules in favour of campaigning to scrap the watchdog
- Mrs Perry took her own life after being told Ofsted would rate school Inadequate
- Teaching union has called for an immediate freeze of watchdog’s inspections
A furious teacher has accused Ofsted of ‘murder’ following the death of headteacher Ruth Perry – as a union called for the watchdog to be scrapped.
Mrs Perry, 53, was the head of Caversham Primary School in Reading when she took her own life in January after being told the school was being downgraded from Outstanding to Inadequate.
Ofsted’s findings were labelled ‘unfair’ and ‘deeply harmful’ by her heartbroken family, while her death also sparked calls for the watchdog to be abolished amid accusations of causing ‘widespread anxiety, stress and ill-health’.
Today hundreds of teachers ordered the NASUWT teaching union to campaign to scrap the regulator in the wake of her death.
Hank Roberts, a teacher from Brent, accused the education regulator of bullying teachers to their deaths.
Mrs Perry, 53, was the head of Caversham Primary School in Reading when she took her own life in January after being told the school’s management was being downgraded from Outstanding to Inadequate
Hank Roberts, a teacher from Brent, accused the education regulator of bullying teachers to their deaths
He said: ‘What is it if you bully somebody so mercilessly that they kill themselves? I think it’s murder. That’s it. Plain and simple murder.
‘This has been going on for donkey yonks. We’ve been condemning it regularly.
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‘Clearly this is not enough. They don’t give a stuff what you think. What they care about is what you do, and we have to do a lot more.’
Gherie Wedeyesus, also from Brent, added: ‘Let’s end this reign of terror, abolish Ofsted.’
The teachers join the National Education Union (NEU) in calling for an immediate freeze of inspections to allow for full mental health assessments to be conducted on teachers and school leaders.
The union’s calls have been echoed by Mrs Perry’s heartbroken sister Julia Waters, who said the Ofsted inspection had been the ‘worst day of her life’.
Mrs Perry, a mother-of-two, had been a pupil at Caversham Primary School before returning as principal for 12 years.
The school had been rated ‘outstanding’ since 2009 until November 15, when three Ofsted inspectors arrived.
Ms Waters said her sister died ‘under intolerable pressure from external scrutiny’.
She added: ‘We are in no doubt that Ruth’s death was a direct result of the pressure put on her by the process and outcome of an Ofsted inspection at her school.’
The watchdog’s chief inspector Amanda Spielman said Ms Perry’s death was ‘a tragedy’, but hit back at headteachers threatening to block inspectors from entering schools in protest.
It comes after headteacher Flora Cooper pledged to deny officials entry to John Rankin Schools in nearby Newbury, Berkshire.
She said: ‘The sad news about Ruth has led to an understandable outpouring of grief and anger from many people in education.
Mrs Perry had been headteacher of Caversham Primary School (pictured) for more than a decade when Ofsted decided to downgrade it from Outstanding to Inadequate
Mrs Perry’s sister Professor Julia Waters said her sister died ‘under intolerable pressure from external scrutiny’
‘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.’
Elsewhere, headteachers in Suffolk have said they would support schools taking part in peaceful protests during inspections.
And in Reading, schools have been removing logos and references to Ofsted ratings from their websites, as well as displaying photographs of Ms Perry when inspections take place.
An inquest into the headteacher’s death will take place at Berkshire Coroner’s Court later this year.
An Ofsted spokesman declined to comment on the NASUWT’s proposals, but said: ‘Inspections are first and foremost for children and their parents – looking in depth at the quality of education, behaviour and how well, and safely, schools are run.
‘Our inspectors are all former or current school leaders who fully understand the pressures of the role. We always want inspections to be constructive and collaborative, and in the vast majority of cases school leaders agree that they are.’
The watchdog also said it does not grade individual teachers or lessons, with the new inspection framework focusing on the curriculum and what children are learning.
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