London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Sep 11, 2026

Quit your Ofsted roles, Perry's sister tells heads

Quit your Ofsted roles, Perry's sister tells heads

Head teachers in England should stop serving as Ofsted inspectors, says the sister of a head who took her own life after an inspection.

Ruth Perry died while waiting for a report that downgraded her school.

Prof Julia Waters was speaking to members of a head teachers' union which is also asking members who work as Ofsted inspectors to consider quitting.

Ofsted said most school leaders thought inspections were "constructive and collaborative".

It comes as a school in Cambridge is set to challenge Ofsted in court for not following correct procedures, after an inspection left its head teacher feeling suicidal.

In an emotional address at the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) conference, Prof Waters said a "terrible injustice" had been done to her sister, and she would not "give up until Ofsted is radically reformed".

Ms Perry took her own life in January, weeks after an Ofsted inspection. The Ofsted report, published after her death, downgraded her school's rating from Outstanding to Inadequate - going from the top to the bottom of the grading scale.

"The injustice of that one-word judgement destroyed Ruth's career, her world and her sense of self," Prof Waters said.

She said head teachers who served as inspectors were "no doubt" doing their "best", but were working with "a flawed, inhumane system".

She called on them to remove references to Ofsted grades from their websites and schools.

"Stand up to Ofsted, speak out, take down your banners, hand in your badges," she said. "Ofsted must be reformed."

The NAHT also passed an emergency motion asking members to "consider refraining from carrying out inspections".

Ruth Perry, who took her own life in January, had been waiting for an Ofsted report rating her school as "inadequate"


Prof Waters previously told the BBC that Ofsted inspections should be paused, so that an independent inquiry into what happened at Ms Perry's school, in Reading, could take place - as well as a review of the culture of inspections at Ofsted.

Last week, Amanda Spielman, Ofsted's chief inspector, told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme that she believed the findings of last year's inspection were "secure".

She said the inspection team had "worked with the professionalism and sensitivity that I would expect".

Asked if she had concerns about what happened, she replied: "From what I've seen, I don't have any reason to doubt the inspection."

Prof Waters said Ms Spielman's response was "totally inadequate".

Ofsted has described Ms Perry's death as a tragedy.

A spokeswoman for Ofsted said their inspections were "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".

"We always want inspections to be constructive and collaborative and in the vast majority of cases school leaders agree that they are," she added.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
John Lewis Partnership Loss Widens to £124 Million
UK Government to Put White Working-Class Social Mobility at Centre of Equality Policy
McLaren Plans £450 Million Technology Investment Creating 1,000 UK Jobs
UK Chancellor Faces Calls for Wealth Taxes and Public Ownership in Autumn Budget
English Mayors to Gain Powers to Impose Uncapped Overnight Tourist Taxes
JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon Warns UK Government Against Bank Windfall Taxes
UK Air Traffic Control Outage Cancels More Than 2,000 Flights
UK Imposes Trade Ban on Israeli Settlements in the West Bank
UK Borrowing Costs Surge as Middle East Tensions Push Long-Term Gilt Yields to Highest Since 1998
Buckingham Palace Says Prince Harry and Meghan Will Not Resume Official Royal Duties
UK Treasury Faces Calls to Scrap £100,000 Childcare Support Threshold
Trades Union Congress Urges Labour Government to Rewrite Migration Policy
Riot Police Deployed After Anti-Migrant Protests Turn Violent in Portsmouth
UK Considers Replacing Some Disability Cash Payments With Direct Services
JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon Warns UK Chancellor Against Higher Banking Taxes
UK Announces New Sanctions Targeting Israeli Settlements in West Bank
Metropolitan Police Investigate Alleged Illegal Donations to Reform UK
UK Charges Wiltshire Man With Assisting Russian Intelligence
UK Orders Urgent Review After Air Traffic Failure Cancels More Than 2,000 Flights
Merz Rebukes AfD Expansion in Saxony-Anhalt
King Charles Confirms Prince Harry and Meghan Will Remain Private Citizens
Labour Selects Former Child Refugee for By-Election in Keir Starmer’s Former Seat
Foreign Private Equity Accelerates Takeovers of London-Listed Industrial Companies
NHS Maternity Care Faces Scrutiny Over Support for Mothers After Caesarean Births
BBC Warns Staff Strikes Are Likely Amid Job Cuts and Programme Cancellations
English Housing Affordability Improves to Best Level in More Than a Decade
UK Health Commission Proposes Framework for Wider AI Adoption Across NHS
Labour Faces Pressure for Wealth Tax Ahead of Autumn Budget
Metropolitan Police Open Criminal Investigation Into Alleged Foreign Donations to Reform UK
UK Police Deploy Riot Officers After Anti-Immigration Unrest in Portsmouth and Dover
UK Defends Sanctions on Israeli Settlements Despite Diplomatic Retaliation
UK Air Traffic Control Failure Cancels More Than 1,000 Flights and Disrupts 65,000 Passengers
Compass Urges £10 Million Wealth Tax and Public Ownership Ahead of UK Autumn Budget
UK Government’s Devolution Plans Face House of Lords Scrutiny
Maldives Seeks New Chagos Sovereignty Talks With UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham
UK Airports Face Continuing Disruption After National Air Traffic Control Failure
UK Bans Imports From Israeli Settlements and Expands Sanctions on Iran
British Chambers of Commerce Forecasts UK Growth of 1% as Investment Remains Weak
UK Suspends Local Government Reorganisation Decisions and Cancels Planned Shadow Authority Polls
UK Parliament Opens Inquiry Into Gaps in Climate Change Preparedness
Andy Burnham and Xi Jinping Hold Talks on Trade, Security and British Consular Cases
UK Joins France, Canada and Other Nations in Measures Against Israeli West Bank Settlements
UK Announces New Sanctions Targeting Iranian Nuclear and Military Networks
British Chambers of Commerce Calls for Business Rate Reform and Productivity Support
UK Farmers Warn Dry Summer Could Reduce Crop Yields and Push Up Food Prices
UK Rail Networks Hit by Widespread Delays After Major Signalling Failures
Matt Clifford Resigns as ARIA Chair After Conflict-of-Interest Scrutiny
UK and France Say Joint Border Operations Have Prevented More Than 48,000 Irregular Channel Crossings
UK Core Inflation Remains Above Expectations as Utility and Commodity Costs Stay Elevated
Jaguar Land Rover Considers Up to 4,000 UK Job Cuts Amid Automotive Industry Pressure
×