An open letter is published today, signed by school leaders, national organisations, ex-school inspectors, trade unions and Professor Julia Waters, whose sister Ruth Perry died in 2023. This letter is being sent on the final day of Ofsted’s consultation.

The coalition of voices from across the education sector and beyond calls on education secretary Bridget Phillipson to delay roll out of Ofsted’s consultation proposals. The coalition argues that Ofsted has demonstrated its failure to address lessons from head teacher Ruth Perry’s death. 

There are real concerns that the new proposed system will make inspections even less reliable and will continue to drive excessive pressure, ill-health and stress for the profession.

The letter asks Bridget Phillipson to delay the proposals drawn from the consultation, in order to ‘take the time needed to get change right’. 

The full text of the letter is as follows: 

 

Dear Bridget Phillipson,

We are writing as a coalition of organisations and individuals deeply concerned about Ofsted’s proposals for a new inspection system.

Since September 2024, your government has taken steps in the right direction to address longstanding, serious concerns about England’s school inspection system including, most significantly, the very welcome removal of the one-word overall effectiveness judgement. We welcome the acknowledgment by the Secretary of State that the previous system had meant ‘low information for parents and high stakes for schools’ and that there was a need for a better approach.

Since this announcement, however, we feel there has been little meaningful attempt at resolving ongoing systemic issues that have been proven to cause catastrophic harm to education staff. We believe the proposed new system will continue to have a detrimental impact on the wellbeing of education staff and hence on students’ school experience.

In particular, we believe the proposed new report cards and the new grading system fail to address the recommendations of the Coroner following the tragic, preventable death of Ruth Perry. They also fail to address the recommendations of the Education Select Committee’s inquiry into the work of Ofsted, which was launched as a result of wider concerns highlighted by Ruth’s terrible death. The proposed new system will continue to drive excessive pressure, ill-health and stress for the profession, with the very real risk of causing further, preventable deaths.

We are also concerned that this new system will make inspections even less reliable, therefore exacerbating concerns about the inaccuracy, inconsistency and subjectivity of Ofsted reports - which in turn significantly reduces their ability to deliver accurate information to parents or provide fair outcomes for schools. With this in mind, it is essential for schools to be able to hold Ofsted to account through a robust, independent complaints and appeals process. The current lack of any such independent process undermines the validity of Ofsted reports, yet there are no plans in place to address this issue.

Ofsted must take the time to consider the consultation evidence properly, including responding to expert feedback from the profession. It must make changes as a result of that evidence. Schools also need the necessary lead-in time to prepare for a new system. Most importantly, trust in the system needs to be restored, both for the profession and for the wider public – trust that is completely lacking as things currently stand and which has only been exacerbated by the rushed and closed nature of the consultation.

We urge you to delay these proposals to take the time needed to get change right. We are confident that, working collectively with you and Ofsted, we can design a school inspection system that will meet the DfE’s principles for an improved accountability system and one that supports all children to achieve and thrive, without driving more talented educators out of the profession.

Yours sincerely,

Adrian Gray
Author and former senior HMI

Adrian Lyons
Former HMI

Alasdair Macdonald
Chair of the New Visions for Education Group (NVEG)

Alison Clarke, Cert Ed
Honorary member of the British Veterinary Nursing Association, Mental Health First Aid Trainer and a technician member of the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health

Brian Matthews
Chair of the Fabian Education Policy Group

Caroline Derbyshire
Chief executive of Saffron Academy Trust

Daniel Kebede
General secretary, National Education Union (NEU)

Debbie Rooney
Education advisor and former HMI

Deborah Coles
Director, INQUEST

Dr Kulvarn Atwal
Principal Learning Leader, The Thinking Schools Federation

Dr. Bernardita Munoz Chereau
Associate Professor, UCL Center for Educational Leadership

Dr Deborah Outhwaite
Chair of BELMAS

Dr Robert Abrahart
ForThe100

Dr Sean Lang
Chair of Governors, the Queens’ Federation

Edmund Barnett-Ward
Parent campaigner

Frank Norris MBE FCCT
Board member of InnovateHer, Joint Lead of Education Leaders’ Forum for Forum Strategy Headrest

Hilda Palmer
Hazards Campaign, joint author of Work-related Suicide: A qualitative analysis of recent cases with recommendations for reform

Ian Widdows
Researcher, former secondary school head and founder of the National Association of Secondary Moderns (NASM)

Joanna Lane BA Oxon CEO Christopher Lane Trust

Martin McKee CBE
Professor of European Public Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Matt Wrack
General secretary, NASUWT

Melissa Benn
Writer, journalist and campaigner

Mike Riley
Suicide prevention campaigner

Nina Smit
Churchill Fellow Suicide Prevention and Lecturer in Mental Health and SEND at Edge Hill University

Paul Vittles
Chief facilitator, Zero Suicide Society Transformation Programme

Paul Whiteman
General secretary, National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT)

Patrick Cozier
Headteacher of Highgate Wood

Peter Green
Former HMI

Pepe Di’Iasio
General secretary, Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL)

Prof. Colin Diamond
Professor of Education, University of Birmingham

Prof. Colin Richards
Former HMI

Prof. Jane Perryman
Professor of Sociology of Education, IOE, University College London

Prof. Julia Waters
Professor of French, University of Reading

Prof. Sarah Waters – Professor of French Studies, University of Leeds, joint author of Work-related Suicide: A qualitative analysis of recent cases with recommendations for reform

Rebecca Jackson – CEO, The Big Fandango