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Ruth Perry took her own life after a report downgraded her school from ‘Outstanding’ to ‘Inadequate’. Teachers and policy-makers are urging for a national boycott of Ofsted.
Education unions have called for a boycott of Ofsted, and urged teachers to refuse inspectors access to their schools, after 53-year-old headteacher Ruth Perry took her own life.
Perry was considered an educator ‘in her prime’, who worked at Caversham Primary School in Reading. Her suicide was triggered by a scathing Ofsted report which downgraded her school from ‘Outstanding’ to ‘Inadequate’.
Ms Perry’s family said the headteacher was placed under almost unmanageable stress by Ofsted, and regarded the November inspection as the ‘worst day of her life’.
Ruth’s death has triggered an outpouring of support amongst educational professionals, forcing many to reconsider Ofsted’s legitimacy as an organisation.
The public outcry over Ofsted inspections has bubbled for years, Perry’s suicide acting as a watershed moment in the national discourse around Britain’s educational system and the dogmatic institutions that serve both to sustain and destroy it.
Headteacher’s around the country have empathised with Perry’s story and shared their own experiences of pressure under Ofsted’s rule.
Staff at the John Rankin Schools appear to make a statement outside the school gates. Headteacher Flora Cooper tweeted yesterday, saying that she would refuse entry to Ofsted inspectors following the death of fellow headteacher Ruth Perry in January pic.twitter.com/b0zmNjwqOJ
— Greatest Hits Radio Surrey & East Hampshire (@GHRSurrey) March 21, 2023
Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary for the National Education Union (NEU) said a new system was required that prioritises ‘the welfare and wellbeing of the leaders and staff working so hard with children and young people in their community’, ‘we need a system which is supportive, effective, and fair’.
Ofsted was introduced in 1992 as a way of informing parents about school performance and ensuring the maintenance and improvement of standards. But it has long been criticised by those working in the profession due to the high stakes pressure it places on teachers.
The pandemic has only heightened the toll on schools, who are facing high absence rates, fewer staff, and learning delays amongst children.
Yet following a Covid-led pause on inspections, Ofsted reintroduced them in 2021 with an expedited timeline that will see all schools and colleges inspected by 2025.
Post-covid, Ofsted also announced an end to the exemption of schools previously marked as ‘outstanding’, meaning all headteachers are constantly living ‘in fear of the call’ that comes the day prior to an inspection.
