London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Jul 20, 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
Brilliant move: Péter Magyar Moves to Nominate Chess Grandmaster Judit Polgár as Hungary’s President
Spain Defeats Argentina in Extra Time to Win Second World Cup
Current AI Seeks to Build an Open Global AI Infrastructure Outside Big Tech Control
Turkey Explores S-400 Transfer to UAE in Bid to Rejoin F-35 Program
Germany’s Economic Malaise Reopens the Sunday Shopping Debate
Singapore Considers Lower Taxes for Fund Managers as Hong Kong Intensifies Talent Contest
US Retaliates Against Iran After Two American Troops Killed in Jordan
Bank of Asia BVI Enters Court-Supervised Liquidation After Regulators Find It Insolvent
Proposed U.S.-Saudi Nuclear Pact Could Permit Limited Uranium Enrichment Under International Safeguards
Netherlands Declares Water Shortage Emergency After Drought Pushes Rivers to Historic Lows
Why Kentucky Fried Chicken Became KFC—and Why the False Explanations Persist
Iran Claims It Destroyed Bahrain’s Main Artificial Intelligence Center in Missile and Drone Strike
Ukrainian Drones Strike Wildberries Warehouses Deep Inside Russia
Brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate Who Turned "Toxic Masculinity" Into a Brand Arrested in Miami as Britain Seeks Their Extradition
Reported CIA Mission Helped Clear the UAE’s Path to Advanced US AI Chips
Artificial Intelligence Capital Fuels Markets While Governments and Regulators Face Mounting Strategic Tests
China’s Moonshot’s Kimi K3 Narrows the Gap With Anthropic Through Scale, Openness and Lower Cost
Gold and Cash Seizure Puts Indonesia’s Senior Anti-Corruption Prosecutor Under Investigation
The Ledger Will Not Trust on Faith
Bank of England Warns Climate Shocks Could Trigger Sudden Asset Repricing
UK Treasury Places Microsoft, Google, AWS and Oracle Under New Financial Resilience Rules
Scottish Government Faces Pressure Over Delays in Vulnerable Group Background Checks
Crown Prosecution Service Authorises Additional Charges Against Andrew and Tristan Tate
NHS Approves At-Home Cancer Treatments for Rare Blood Disorders
Bank of England Gains Oversight of Major Cloud Providers Supporting UK Financial System
UK Government Plans Major Overhaul of English Local Councils Through New Unitary Authorities
British Steel Nationalisation Dispute Escalates as Chinese Owner Jingye Seeks Compensation
Bank of England Signals Interest Rates Will Stay High as It Warns of Financial Risks From Climate and AI
Trump Administration Pressures Banks to Restrict Financial Access for Undocumented Immigrants
Passenger Bound for Germany Refused to Sit Beside a Woman on a Plane — Then Slapped a Flight Attendant
Ukraine’s Leadership Rift Spills Into the Streets as Protesters Target Army Chief
Ukrainian Drone Barrage Kills Eight and Strikes Russian Logistics Network
Key Trends to Watch
Financial Conduct Authority Warns Cloud and Digital Risks Are Becoming a Financial Priority
Jeffrey Donaldson Appeals Sexual Abuse Conviction as Democratic Unionist Party Opens Review
Welsh Health Authorities Launch Emergency Meningitis Vaccination Programme for Students
Scottish Business Activity Falls for Third Month as Companies Face Rising Costs
Bank of England Regulators Demand Better Access to Digital Banking Services
United Kingdom Cuts Bilateral Aid to Several African Countries by Up to Ninety Per Cent
United Kingdom Introduces Tougher Deportation Rules After Rochdale Exploitation Scandal
NHS England Launches Wearable Technology Plan to Reduce Sepsis Deaths
Amazon Web Services Billing Error Sends Trillion-Dollar Invoices to British Companies
Bank of England Takes Direct Regulatory Role Over Major Global Cloud Providers
Extreme Summer Heat Drives Record Fire Risk and Rising Deaths Across Britain
United Kingdom Nationalisation of British Steel Sparks Diplomatic Dispute With China
United Kingdom Economy Shows Weak Growth Ahead of Major Autumn Budget
Andy Burnham Set to Become United Kingdom Prime Minister After Labour Leadership Victory
The Ten World Cup Finals That Defined Football History
Smartphones Are Getting More Expensive, Sales Are Collapsing, and Even Apple Admits: "Prices Will Rise"
The Monaco Bombing Has Become a Test of Ukraine’s Intelligence Accountability
×