SCHOOL leaders, trade unions and Ruth Perry’s sister Professor Julia Walters have urged Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson to delay the rollout of Ofsted’s consultation proposals.

In an open letter published on the last day of the school inspectorate’s consultation today, the coalition of voices from across the education sector argued that the schools inspectorate has demonstrated its failure to address lessons from Ms Perry’s death.

An inquest found that an Ofsted inspection that downgraded the head teacher’s Reading primary school from outstanding to inadequate contributed to her death.

The letter’s signatories, which include the NEU, NASUWT and ASCL unions, said that they are “deeply concerned about Ofsted’s proposals for a new inspection system.”

Since the announcement that single-word inspection judgements will be removed, “we feel there has been little meaningful attempt at resolving ongoing systemic issues that have been proven to cause catastrophic harm to education staff,” the letter continued.

“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.”

The Department for Education was contacted for comment.