Ofsted cannot be allowed to reform itself, say teachers’ unions

Sister of headteacher Ruth Perry, who killed herself last year, joins call for complete reset' of schools inspectorate

Education unions are to warn that Ofsted cannot be trusted to reform itself, as headteachers continue to report that school inspections are leaving their staff feeling distressed.

Prof Julia Waters, sister of the Reading headteacher Ruth Perry, who killed herself last year after an inspection downgraded her school from outstanding to inadequate, will call on the government to make deeper reforms of the inspectorate at the Labour party conference on Sunday. While welcoming the government's recent confirmation that Ofsted's single-word judgments will be scrapped, Waters, along with all four teaching unions, said the inspector still operated with a culture of fear and terror".