Ruth Perry’s death sparks work-related suicide probe

As reported by the BBC, experts have said that in the wake of the death of a head teacher following an Ofsted inspection, every work-related suicide should be investigated by the Health and Safety Executive

The family of Ruth Perry, who took her own life in January, say the inspection put her under huge mental pressure.

Writing in the British Medical Journal, the experts say there should be change.

Ofsted said inspections were carried out professionally and sensitively, in the interests of children.

The death of Perry, while waiting for the publication of an Ofsted report downgrading Caversham Primary School in Berkshire from Outstanding to Inadequate, has provoked a debate about the impact of inspections.

An inquest later this year will consider all the factors contributing to her suicide.

The two eminent experts argue in their opinion piece in the BMJ that health experts need to “demand action to tackle the burden of mental ill health associated with the way it [Ofsted] operates”.

Prof Martin McKee from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and Prof Sarah Waters from the University of Leeds say too little is known about other similar deaths and argue teachers face “immense pressure” at work, and many have lost confidence in Ofsted’s system of inspection.

In France, suicides are investigated when there is a possible or alleged connection to work, but the article says in the UK there is no certainty about “how many teachers have killed themselves in circumstances linked to Ofsted inspections”.

However, the authors say they are aware of at least eight other such suicides.

They want these kinds of deaths to be looked into by the Health and Safety Executive, which investigates other kinds of accidents or deaths at work.

A private memorial event for Ruth Perry’s family, friends and school community was held on Saturday.

Her sister Julia Waters said since Ruth’s death there had been “countless harrowing accounts shared of the devastating, traumatic impact of Ofsted inspections”.

She welcomed the call in the BMJ article for action and said it was needed to prevent another “appalling tragedy”.

Primary and nursery school teachers were found to be at 42% greater risk of suicide than the national average, in research by the Office for National Statistics.

The study, which looked at suicides by profession between 2011 and 2015, found teaching as a whole had a lower than average risk.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said the article was a “powerful intervention” and the death of Ruth Perry had led to evidence emerging of others “left in very dark places” after inspections.

In the opinion piece, the academics argue that Ofsted has a duty of care to teachers, and that a failure to uphold it would be negligent, calling for MPs to look at the impact of inspections on the welfare of staff.

The experts say they “struggled to find evidence” that Ofsted had reflected on its own responsibilities.

In response to the article, Ofsted said: “Our inspectors are all former or current school leaders themselves, so they understand how it feels to be inspected. We inspect first and foremost in the interests of children, but we aim for all our inspections to be carried out professionally and sensitively, with careful regard to their impact on school staff.”

Ofsted has promised it will look at revisiting schools more quickly where concerns could be addressed easily, and it has reminded head teachers they can draw on the support of colleagues.

A spokesperson for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said work-related suicide could not be reported to it under existing regulations: “Our thoughts are with everyone who knew Ruth Perry. A coroner can refer a case to HSE if they consider there is an ongoing risk to others.”