Government scraps single-headline Ofsted judgements following death of headteacher Ruth Perry

Ofsted has traditionally provided schools with short judgements to summarise their inspection findings. These were ‘outstanding’, ‘good’, ‘requires improvement’ and ‘inadequate’.

The announcement that the government will scrap the method comes after the death of former headteacher Ruth Perry, who took her own life in January 2023 weeks after Ofsted inspectors downgraded her Caversham primary school from the top rating to the lowest ‘inadequate’ rating over safeguarding concerns. A coroner’s inquest found that the inspection process had contributed to her death.

The government had been engaged with the education sector and the family of Ms Perry over a possible overhaul of the Ofsted inspection process. Mrs Perry’s sister, Professor Julia Waters, said: “We are delighted and relieved that the Government has decided to take this important and long-overdue step.

“Single-word headline judgments are dangerous and reductive. They are unpopular with parents and teachers, and their simplistic impact has made the daily job of improving school standards harder for everyone except the bureaucrats.

“The shame, injustice, and high-stakes consequences of an ‘inadequate’ judgement, together with the rude and intimidating conduct of the inspection itself, were the cause of my sister’s mental deterioration and suicide. Single-word judgments are just the most visible feature of a fundamentally flawed inspection system. Ofsted’s reign of terror has caused untold harm to headteachers and school staff for too long, with a negative impact on children’s education.”

Instead of a one-headline umbrella rating, schools will be given be given a rating from ‘outstanding’, ‘good’, ‘requires improvement’ and ‘inadequate’ specifically across the four subcategories for this academic year. These subcategories are quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. School report cards will also be introduced from September 2025, which will give parents a full and comprehensive assessment of how schools are performing and ensure that inspections are more effective in driving improvement”.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “The need for Ofsted reform to drive high and rising standards for all our children in every school is overwhelmingly clear. The removal of headline grades is a generational reform and a landmark moment for children, parents and teachers. From early 2025, regional improvement teams will also be introduced to work with schools struggling in areas of weakness.

“Single-headline grades are low information for parents and high stakes for schools. Parents deserve a much clearer, much broader picture of how schools are performing – that’s what our report cards will provide. This Government will make inspection a more powerful, more transparent tool for driving school improvement. We promised change and now we are delivering.”