THE NEW chief of Ofsted has put inspections on hold as staff are set to be given more training around mental health during the coming weeks.
It comes after the conclusion of the inquest into the death of Caversham headteacher Ruth Perry ruled last month that the schools inspectorate had contributed to her taking her own life in January last year.
The coroner said that the inspection of Caversham Primary School had “lacked fairness, respect, and sensitivity,” leading a number of teaching unions to call for a pause on inspections.
Now Sir Martyn Oliver, who took over as chief inspector on Monday, January 1, has said that inspections would not resume as the new school term begins next week, and that staff will receive training in the mean time.
He also announced that Ofsted would undergo an internal review so that the standards organisation would be able to meet its legal duties in response to the inquest’s coroner.
Senior coroner Heidi Connor issued a Prevention of Future Deaths report to Ofsted, as well as to Reading Borough Council and the Department of Education, which means that each is required to provide a plan to mitigate the chances of any similar deaths happening.
Speaking to The Guardian, Mr Oliver said that the training would not be a “one-off,” but would instead be part of a “series” of measures designed to help inspectors “manage the well-being” of staff at schools.
Schools will also be given additional support as Ofsted is already making changes to make raising concerns easier for school staff.
He is also due to meet with Professor Julia Waters, Ms Perry’s sister, who has called for significant reform to Ofsted.
She has also called for the scrapping of one-word judgements, and said that “tweaks” to the current system and extra training “go nowhere near far enough.”
The government has confirmed that it does not plan to change the short format of judgements.
