Ruth Perry’s sister demands action as headteachers warn Ofsted reforms remain "dangerous"

Speaking to LBC, Professor Julia Waters said she was left "distressed and re-traumatised" after multiple headteachers informed her of "rude [and] high-handed" behaviour from Ofsted inspectors, with some continuing to feel powerless when appealing assessments they believe to be unfair.

She also revealed that she has written to Andy Burnham requesting a meeting to discuss her concerns.

Ofsted says it has “made significant changes to the inspection framework specifically to address concerns about wellbeing”.

Since LBC contacted the Department for Education, Professor Waters has been offered a meeting with the Education Secretary Lucy Powell.

Powell told LBC she’ll “continue the work that [she does] with headteachers, headteacher representatives, and others to make sure that we get this Ofsted framework, but also the culture and the whole regime right”.

Headteacher Ruth Perry took her own life in January 2023 after learning her school was set to be rated "inadequate" by Ofsted.

An inquest ruled her death as "suicide contributed to by an Ofsted inspection carried out in November 2022”. After delivering her verdict, the coroner wrote to Ofsted warning "there is a risk that future deaths could occur unless action is taken”.

The coroner Heidi Connor said, “whilst the outcome of the inspection was a part of Ruth’s distress, it was not the only cause”, citing “the conduct of the inspection itself”, the “single word judgement of inadequate” and “the length of time between the inspection and final report”.

In response, Ofsted launched a consultation called "The Big Listen" and scrapped one-word judgements like “Outstanding” or “Inadequate”.

Now, schools are graded differently on six different areas: inclusion, curriculum and teaching, achievement, attendance and behaviour, personal development and wellbeing, and leadership and governance. This new framework has been in place since November 2025.

However, Perry’s sister says she is still being contacted by headteachers who’ve had "terrible" experiences of Ofsted inspections.

“Although there have been lots of frantic tweaks around the edges... the fundamental dangers inherent in the old system are still there in the so-called new framework."

Ofsted claims “many school leaders have told [them] that inspections now feel more collaborative and constructive as a result of these reforms”.

But Professor Waters has told LBC that change does not go far enough: "It’s very distressing and re-traumatising to hear some of the experiences of those headteachers and how tragically similar they are to what my sister, Ruth, went through.

"It’s also infuriating [and] gobsmacking that this is still being allowed to happen despite all the warnings.

"It absolutely beggars belief that Ofsted are being allowed to carry on inspecting schools with a framework that is frankly dangerous to the health, well-being, and lives of the people being inspected".

She’s also told LBC she’s concerned about the impact on children’s education the current levels of mental health problems which it’s claimed are caused by Ofsted inspections could have.

In her letter to Andy Burnham, Professor Waters says she appeals to the Prime Minister “on the basis of what he has been saying about many of the things that are wrong in the country, the lack of accountability of public bodies - the inequity between ordinary people, ordinary bereaved families, and powerful public bodies."

The letter continues: “I appeal to meet him as one human being to another - not as me, Julia Waters, appealing to the Prime Minister - but actually as two human beings understanding the impact not only of a traumatic loss of a loved one, but then of the inhumane treatment that my family and I have been subjected to since."

Julia Waters told LBC: "I want to meet Andy Burnham. I hope that he will [not just] listen but act, because I’ve been listened to many times and now I want action.

“And I don’t just want it for me. I don’t just want it for Ruth. I want it for all of those teachers and headteachers who are doing an incredibly important and difficult job in unbearably difficult circumstances and unnecessarily difficult circumstances.

"The lessons from Ruth’s death have not been learnt and the actions needed to prevent it happening again have not been taken... [I hope] he will have the courage, the conviction to put it right."

Professor Waters is not alone in her concerns.

Richard Uffendell, a headteacher at Ashton Park School in Bristol, told LBC the reforms to the inspection system have failed to properly protect teachers.

"One of the reasons that Ofsted had to change... was because of the tragedy around Ruth Perry. It doesn’t feel at all that any of that has been taken into consideration.

“The new framework has shifted that completely away from teachers and support staff and directly onto senior leadership teams. And the full brunt and weight of Ofsted now sits with a senior leadership team."

He added that it would be "naive" to suggest a similar tragedy would not happen again.

Mr Uffendell says he’s spoken to teachers who have gone through the new framework and said they’re "never doing another Ofsted - they’re going to retire, find another job, step out of the profession”.

James Pope is a former headteacher who founded a company called Headsup4HTs, which is a support network for headteachers.

He told LBC: "There are stories aplenty…of headteachers being impacted really, really negatively.

"School leaders [are] articulating very low elements of self-esteem, real reflections on the fact that maybe they’re not good enough to do the job, or anything that they’ve done in the period leading up to the inspection hasn’t been good enough.”

"I don’t think we can just allow inspections to continue in the way that they have and wait for the next highly concerning situation to arise with a headteacher or a school leader.

“I would like somebody in a position of authority and influence to take some action…before it’s too late.”

The general secretaries of three major teaching unions - the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), the Association of School and College Leaders and the National Education Union - all expressed concerns about the implementation of the new system when contacted by LBC.

They warned the failure to address the issues of the old system is having a negative impact on teachers’ mental health and wellbeing, which could push talented school leaders out of the profession.

Ofsted’s Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver, said: "Our first responsibility is to the education and welfare of children, and that sometimes means we have to deliver difficult judgements when standards fall short. We inspect against the standards that the government - and parents - expect schools to deliver to.

“But as a former headteacher myself, the wellbeing of school leaders matters enormously to me. Since joining Ofsted, I have made significant changes to the inspection framework specifically to address concerns about wellbeing, and every inspector now completes mental health training so they can recognise and respond sensitively to signs of distress.

"Many school leaders have told us that inspections now feel more collaborative and constructive as a result of these reforms, and that’s encouraging. But we take all feedback seriously and we will continue to listen."

Speaking to LBC, the Education Secretary, Lucy Powell, said: “There’s nothing that is more concerning to me as Education Secretary than the idea that our accountability regime in this country would lead to a headteacher to taking their own life. It’s just absolutely awful and that is not at all what we should be about, the kind of culture and atmosphere that that is created here.

“So, I take incredibly seriously teacher, headteacher wellbeing and yes, of course we need an accountability structure and regime to continue school improvement. But I want to see one that that is much more kind of supportive and understanding of the great jobs that the majority, in fact, you know, almost all headteachers are doing around the country and support them with that.

“And I’ve already been in touch with Ruth’s family, I’m hoping to see them next week. And I’ll continue the work that I do with headteachers, headteacher representatives and others to make sure that we get this Ofsted framework, but also the culture, and the whole regime, right.”