Councils are “effectively hamstrung” in their ability to provide high-quality support for school leaders due to policy and funding constraints, a review into the death of Ruth Perry has found.
The report, commissioned by Reading Borough Council and published today, concluded Perry’s death shows the “folly of the macho culture of high stakes accountability”.
A coroner ordered a learning review into the support and guidance offered by Reading after ruling an Ofsted inspection contributed to the suicide of Perry, then head at Caversham Primary School.
The review was run by two retired senior council children’s services leaders, who concluded “we would have … responded in the same way” as Reading officers did.
However, it made wider policy recommendations, including for the role of councils in maintaining schools to be “clarified and funded”.
It added that “local authorities are effectively hamstrung in their ability to provide high-quality support for their school leaders by a combination of both policy and funding constraints”.
Report ‘fails to ask key questions’
Julia Waters, Perry’s sister, said the report’s “frightening” conclusion exposes that councils “lack the resources, power, authority and processes to look after their employees effectively, when faced with the trauma of a punishing Ofsted inspection”.
The review found that the council and school took their roles seriously and prepared for the inspection.
The authors said they would have probably responded in the same way as the Reading council officers, by “trying to understand, help and do the right thing for the person concerned”.
“It would have been tempting to require Ruth to refrain from work but she expressed a clear desire for that not to happen.”
The report added: “The council also finds itself in a position, through the most tragic circumstances, to highlight the folly of the macho culture of ‘high stakes accountability’.”
But Perry said it both “fails to ask key questions” about what support could have been offered to her sister and also “fails consistently to address” the coroner’s concerns.
Councils have ‘ambiguous’ school role
The report mostly made recommendations more widely relating to the role of councils in the schools system.
For instance, it found there was “ambiguous and at times confusing national arrangements for maintained school support and effectiveness”.
While the council employs maintained school staff, it “in reality has few of the powers one would expect”, which are instead deployed through the board of governors.
Councils have a statutory duty to promote “high standards” but now rely on maintained schools choosing to de-delegate part of their budgets back to them to fund monitoring and intervention, it added.
The report called for government clarity.
However the report did say the council would facilitate “restorative” talks between those who “continue to be deeply affected” by Perry’s death.
Suicide prevention training
Other actions proposed to reduce the risk of a similar incident include considering peer support as part of safeguarding reviews, establishing a “critical incident policy” and training for leaders on responding to stress. The latter would include specific training on suicide prevention.
The council already now surveys its heads annual about their mental health.
Brighter Futures for Children (BFfC), the not-for-profit organisation which runs education in Reading, also conducts annual “deep dive” safeguarding audits with schools.
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