'An insult' - Ofsted chief at the time of headteacher Ruth Perry's suicide to be given peerage
29 March 2025, 21:03 | Updated: 29 March 2025, 21:34
The chief inspector of Ofsted at the time of Ruth Perry's suicide could receive a seat in the House of Lords, prompting outrage from the sister of the deceased headteacher.
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Amanda Spielman oversaw Ofsted when Ruth Perry killed herself in 2023 after a report downgraded her Caversham Primary School in Reading, Berkshire, from its highest rating to its lowest over safeguarding concerns.
The coroner ruled that the Ofsted inspection was a contributing factor in her death.
An independent review into how Ofsted handled Mrs Perry's death found in 2024 it was "defensive and complacent".
Ms Spielman, who served as the chief inspector of the schools watchdog between 2017 and 2023, is reported to have been nominated for a peerage by Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch.
Spielman has previously refused to concede that her organisation made errors in the handling of the inspection that contributed to the headteacher's suicide.
Professor Julia Waters, Mrs Perry's sister, said Ms Spielman's "legacy is indelibly associated with my sister's terrible, preventable death and with defending the inhumane system that led to her death".
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Prof Waters added: "Through her response to Ruth's death and the subsequent inquest and inquiries while head of Ofsted, Amanda Spielman showed herself to be lacking in many of the qualities that you would hope would be needed in Parliament.
"She showed poor leadership and judgement, a lack of empathy and understanding of the issues, and a tendency to deflect any criticism onto others.
"A record like that should not be rewarded with a place in the House of Lords. Spielman's nomination for a peerage is a disgrace and an insult to my sister's memory."
Headteacher Ruth Perry's sister speaks to Nick Ferrari
A Conservative party spokesman would not comment on reports of Ms Spielman's nomination for a peerage.
They said: "It would be unfair to comment on whether specific individuals have or have not been nominated or vetted for any honour or dignity.
"We do not comment on speculation or purported leaks."
In a 2024 interview with Rachel Johnson on her Difficult Women podcast, Ms Spielman said: “I absolutely did what I think was the right thing at a tremendously difficult time, when it would have been very easy to say we got the inspection wrong. I couldn’t do that. I didn’t do that.”
Asked why she had apologised to Perry’s family, Spielman said: “We were apologising for the distress that resulted."
She was asked how she felt about leading Ofsted at the time of a “fabulous, much-loved head teacher’s death” - to which Ms Spielman replied: “It was deeply, deeply unpleasant … So you’d see Guardian headlines saying: ‘Ofsted is failing because it’s not supporting schools’ – it’s a bit like saying the driving test agency is failing because it’s not giving people driving lessons.”
Earlier this month, Ms Spielman publicly criticised Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, and the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill.
The former Ofsted chief said the Bill was likely to make education in England worse, and accused Ms Phillipson of being "influenced" by the schools unions.
Ms Spielman was rebuked by a Government source, who claimed she should "spend less time criticising the reforms this Government is bringing, and more time reflecting on her failure at Ofsted".
