Independent review makes recommendations for improvement at council following death of headteacher

Ms Perry was the head at Caversham Primary School in Reading, who took her own life while waiting for a report that downgraded her school to "inadequate".

In December 2023, Senior Coroner Heidi Connor ruled that the inspection "lacked fairness, respect and sensitivity", during which Ms Perry’s mental health “deteriorated significantly”.

The independent review, commissioned by Reading Borough Council, recommended the authority support calls for Ofsted to scrap its one-word judgments.

Looking at actions already taken by the council since the death of Ms Perry, the learning review authors found that the authority established from January 2024 a “more robust and proactive” approach to responding to inspections on behalf of school leaders and governors.

Further, dedicated Ofsted update sessions for headteachers and deputies are held each year where representatives from Ofsted are invited to share guidance at the request of the local authority and school leaders, the report noted.

However, the authors made several recommendations for improvement, including for the authority to continue to work with local headteachers to implement the recently introduced ‘real time’ feedback loop for schools being inspected, to develop a Children’s Services Department ‘critical incident policy’ and to review its current system for providing mental health support to its employees.

Further, the report recommended the council make “strong representations” to Ofsted’s ‘Big Listen’ – a consultation launched in March 2024, which sought views on its work from schools, parents, children and carers.

The review stated: “The council is likely to want to comment strongly on the following:

• The spurious notion that only a one-word judgement can adequately describe the quality of a school to parents and communities.
• The lack of ability to pause an inspection should be reconsidered to allow inspections to be paused for longer periods where it is clear that either some administrative work could easily be carried out to rectify a problem or where a school staff member is distressed.
• That the Ofsted complaints and appeals policy should be clarified and opened up to scrutiny.
• That Ofsted should strive to publish reports in a more timely fashion without long delays over holiday periods.”

The council said the full Independent Learning Review will be presented to a meeting of Reading's Adult Social Care and Education Committee on Monday (22 July).

Jackie Yates, Reading Borough Council Chief Executive, said: “We are enormously grateful to everybody involved for their input into the Independent Learning Review, including Ruth’s family, and the headteachers and Governors from across our school community, including Caversham Primary.

“While acknowledging the proactive approach taken by Reading in supporting schools before, during and after Ofsted inspections, including at Caversham Primary, the report also highlights a number of areas for further improvement which we fully acknowledge and which we intend to measure progress against through an associated action plan.

“This will build upon the list of steps already taken to support local schools."

Yates added: “The Independent Learning Review recognises that Reading finds itself in a unique position, through the most tragic circumstances, to make powerful representations to Ofsted, which we have done as part of the Big Listen consultation.

“It is our strong belief that the discussion should ultimately lead to positive changes which support our headteachers and which debunk the myth that the current approach provides improvements in the quality of education for our children.”

The Independent Review was co-written by Steve Crocker, former Director of Children’s Services for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, and Brian Pope, who was Assistant Director for Education.

Lottie Winson