Call for probe into work-related suicides after headteacher’s death

Open letter says Ruth Perry’s family believes stress associated with Ofsted inspection led to her suicide

Headteacher Ruth Perry (PA Wire)

Two academics have called for investigations by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into every work-related suicide.

Professor Martin McKee, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and University of Leeds professor Sarah Waters made the call in the British Medical Journal in the wake of headteacher Ruth Perry taking her own life in January.

Her family believes stress associated with an Ofsted inspection contributed to her death.

Caversham Primary School in Reading, where she worked, was waiting for a report to be published downgrading it from Outstanding to Inadequate when she died.

“Even though the link between adverse working conditions and suicide is well established, regulations requiring reporting of work-related deaths to the Health and Safety Executive in Great Britain specifically exclude suicides,” the article said.

“While the almost complete loss of confidence in Ofsted is a matter for those in the education sector to address, the health community has a duty to demand action to tackle the burden of mental ill health associated with the way it operates.

“We argue that three bodies need to act now.

“The first is Ofsted itself. It should publicly accept that it has a duty of care to teachers (and to its inspectors, some of whom are also traumatised by the events we have described).”

The two academics believe the HSE should follow the system in France where all work-related suicides are investigated.

“In France, for example, if there is even a suggestion of a link between suicide and working conditions, the burden of proof falls on the employer to show otherwise,” they said.

“In the UK we do not even know with certainty how many teachers have killed themselves in circumstances linked to Ofsted inspections, but we are aware of at least eight others.”

A survey conducted in 2022 by the Teacher Wellbeing Index showed 78% of more than 3,000 teachers reported mental health symptoms they attributed to their work.

“Finally, as Ofsted says that it reports to ‘Parliament, parents, carers, and commissioners’, the Commons education select committee should conduct an urgent inquiry into its impact on the welfare of teaching staff,” the article said.

Simon Kidwell, the vice-president of the National Association of Head Teachers said last month he believes “the framework that underpins the inspection needs redesigning”, declaring that it is “not fit for purpose and it’s not working”.