Dear Mrs Connor, RESPONSE TO REGULATION 28 REPORT TO PREVENT FUTURE DEATHS This is the Department for Education’s (the Department) response to your report made under paragraph 7, Schedule 5, of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 and Regulations 28 and 29 of the Coroners (Investigations) Regulations 2013, dated 12 December 2023, following the tragic death of Ruth Perry on 8 January 2023. Thank you for your conduct of the inquest and for your identification of a number of matters of concern, which are set out in the Report. The Department accepts your findings in full. Ruth’s death shocked the Department — Ministers and officials alike. The loss of Ruth, and the circumstances surrounding that, have had a profound effect on us. Our hearts go out to her family and friends. She remains in our thoughts. Ruth was a dedicated professional who was absolutely committed to her pupils, staff and the whole community around Caversham Primary School. No one should lose their life in this way. We will strive in every way to prevent this from happening again. We owe that to Ruth, to her family and to the profession. The accountability system, including the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted) inspections, plays a vital role in making sure children and students experience the high-quality education they deserve, and are kept safe. Ofsted inspection provides an independent assessment to identify schools’ strengths and areas that need to improve. Its reports highlight success but also, where necessary, trigger support and intervention where that is needed to bring about improvement for the benefit of children.

Ofsted inspectors perform an essential service and do a difficult job. It is critical that they have the right training and support. It is because inspection is so important that the system continues to evolve and develop. While it is absolutely right that our focus should be on children, this should always be accompanied by a regard for the welfare of the professionals who have chosen to take on the responsibility of school leadership. School leaders want to do the right thing! and the Department, along with others, has a responsibility to support them in doing so. Over the last year, we have had the privilege of working with Ruth’s sister, , a local headteacher who knew Ruth well; and , a parent at Ruth’s school. to look at the accountability and inspection arrangements, and to engage with Ofsted and the sector on making changes. A series of changes to the inspection arrangements were announced in June 2023. These were an important start but, as evidenced by the Report, did not go far enough. Ofsted’s response to the Report, which DfE officials and I have discussed in detail with , Ofsted’s new Chief Inspector, sets out fully the changes to inspection that were made prior to the inquest and, importantly, subsequent to the inquest. These include immediate steps taken pre-Christmas and the important inspector training that has taken place at the start of January 2024. The Department’s response does not repeat these changes, but it is important to say that we support all the actions taken to date and will continue to work with on all the changes to come, including those that will be generated through Ofsted’s Big Listen programme. The Big Listen will provide an opportunity to enable Ofsted, and through it the Department, to hear directly from parents, teachers, leaders and professionals, about the strengths of the inspection approach and where improvements are needed. The Department’s response to the Report focuses on two matters of concern raised in the Report, specifically concern 1 and concern 7, as these closely relate to our direct responsibilities. As noted above however, we acknowledge all the areas of concern highlighted and have engaged with on Ofsted’s response to those. Matter of concern I The first of these relates to my hypothetical schools A and B point, referred to above. I am concerned about the impact on school leader welfare that this system may continue to have. Transparency and ease of message to parents is not currently weighed against teacher welfare. The current system allows a school which is inadequate in all areas to receive the same overall label as a school which is good in all areas, but with some safeguarding issues which can be repaired by the time the report is published. 2

The Department accepts your conclusion that a school that is performing well (good or better) in all regards, with the exception of safeguarding, should not be treated in the same way as a school with wider problems, both in relation to the inspection process, and the approach taken by the Department following an inspection. Keeping children safe is an essential part of providing a high-quality education. In a situation where failures of safeguarding process are identified, the overriding priority is to ensure that they are addressed and are shown to have been addressed quickly. The Department has worked closely with Ofsted to make improvements to its inspection of safeguarding. These changes, which are set out in detail in Ofsted’s response, include: schools now having the opportunity to attend to minor issues during the inspection itself, such as administrative errors in paperwork, avoiding an impact on their grade; inspector training to reinforce the need for consistent inspection practice; a new Ofsted national safeguarding duty desk to ensure that consistency; and blogs and webinars to make sure schools are aware of Ofsted’s approach to inspecting safeguarding, understand how judgements are made and how the process has changed in the last year. State-funded schools1 udged inadequate solely for safeguarding One significant change, announced in June 2023, and now in place, means that a school that is good or better in its general provision but is judged inadequate solely on the basis of ineffective safeguarding, is now re-visited by inspectors within three months. This provides an opportunity for the school to make the improvements necessary, and for those improvements to be reflected in the removal of the inadequate grade. This means that a headteacher in Ruth’s position would know that a judgement made purely on safeguarding could be changed rapidly if the issues identified were satisfactorily addressed within three months. The Department has reviewed its regulatory approach to structural intervention in schools in this position. In such a situation, the critical issue is to ensure that the safeguarding concerns are rapidly addressed. In particular, the timetable for intervention allows for reinspection to take place with a view to minimising burdens on school leaders. If the safeguarding issues are addressed at the point of the three month re-inspection, the process of intervention will not progress further. We will continue to explore opportunities to refine our regulatory approach in order to provide further clarity and reassurance to headteachers. Going further We will work with Ofsted through the Big Listen to examine options for further reform of the inspection arrangements around safeguarding. This will include considering whether safeguarding should be separated out from the leadership and management judgement, and other options to improve the inspection processes, including giving schools greater scope to improve safeguarding practice ahead of the inspection process concluding. 1 Independent schools which are not academies are inspected against the independent school standards, and operate within a separate regulatory regime that is not reflected here. 3

Improving communication with schools eligible for intervention The Department accepts the need to take account of schools particular circumstances, and to prioritise headteacher welfare where schools are subject to adverse inspection judgements. We have reviewed the way we engage and communicate with schools in circumstances where intervention is being considered or implemented. with a view to making sure that all contact is undertaken sensitively and with full consideration of the possible impact on school leaders. Training has been delivered to all officials in the Department’s Regions Group, which is responsible for interacting with schools’ Responsible Bodies, on how to manage difficult conversations, and thereafter any engagement officials have with school leaders. The training focuses on how to pick up on signs of distress and how to respond. It includes case studies to help officials understand the situations school leaders might face and the concerns they might have. This training is also in the process of being rolled out to relevant officials in the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), given the involvement of that Agency in intervention cases relating to financial matters, and the pressure a trust or school experiencing financial difficulty might feel. In addition, Regions Group has reviewed the way it writes to schools and trusts which are eligible for intervention, to make sure communications are sensitive to recipients and acknowledge the pressures that they may be under. Regions Group will redouble its efforts to minimise burdens on school leaders in terms of the information it asks them to provide. Similarly, the ESFA has refocused the way it engages with schools and trusts, with support for the system being one of three strategic outcomes in its strategic plan. Initiatives such as the ESFA’s financial oversight simplification programme will help ensure its frameworks and oversight meets the needs of schools and trusts, and removes unnecessary pressures or burdens, whilst continuing to ensure high standards of accountability and transparency. The Agency will continue to review all engagement to ensure it is delivering strong and supportive engagement with schools and trusts. The impact of the training and communications approach will be actively monitored and kept under continuous review. Further work is planned, for example, by Regions Group, on tone and style of communications relating to legal matters, including termination warning notices’. Review of the Department’s safeguarding guidance We have worked closely with Ofsted on the changes made to its handbooks so that inspection practice mirrors the duties and responsibilities placed on schools and colleges in the statutory safeguarding guidance, Keeping Children Safe In Education. We also supported Ofsted with the content for its webinars and blogs by identifying and agreeing the prevalent topics to be covered. We will be launching a call for evidence in the spring to build our knowledge base on where we need to consider 4

further changes so that we can further support school leaders to be effective in relation to safeguarding. It is important that this runs alongside Ofsted’s Big Listen so that collectively we are drawing up and responding to a wide range of views and expertise from across the education sector. We plan to make small technical or points of clarification changes in September 2024 with any fundamental changes made in 2025. Matter of concern 7 In an Ofsted publication dated 12th of June 2023, the Secretaty of State for Education was quoted as follows: “We must ensure our school leaders have the suppod they need, which is why today we are significantly expanding our wellbeing suppod. This expansion will help make sure headteachers have access to support whenever they need it”. The Ofsted witness was not able to clarify what form this additional support has taken. The Department recognises the pressures that school leaders face and is enormously grateful to them for their strong commitment, professionalism and service to their pupils. The Department will work with Responsible Bodies to ensure they are able to support school leaders and can access high-quality support. Broader staff wellbeing is crucial to our commitment to recruit and retain more teachers and support teacher quality. We are committed to promoting a whole- school approach to mental health and wellbeing, and to ensuring that staff wellbeing policy is integrated within schools culture. The Department has worked in partnership with the education sector and mental health experts to create the Education Staff Wellbeing Charter, which we are encouraging schools to sign up to as a shared commitment to promote staff wellbeing. We have also published a range of resources to help schools address teacher workload issues, prioritise staff wellbeing and support schools to introduce flexible working practices. Supporting school leaders’ wellbeing The Department is funding the charity, Education Support, to provide professional supervision and counselling to school and college leaders. Over 1,400 leaders have benefitted from the support so far and in June 2023, we announced the expansion of the programme, by doubling places for this year, so that more school leaders can have access to this valuable support. School and college leaders working in state funded schools and colleges can access support by visiting Education Support’s website. This programme will end in March 2024 and will be replaced by a new programme. On 15 January 2024, the Department announced a new £1.5 million investment to procure a contractor to deliver a new three-year professional supervision and counselling support package for school and college leaders from April 2024. The new programme will have the capacity to support at least 2,500 leaders and will enable school and college leaders to continue to receive this valuable support. The 5

new investment was announced as part of measures by government to boost recruitment and retention of teachers and leaders. The programme gives leaders a safe and confidential space to talk about and process what is going on for them at work. It enables leaders to work with qualified and experienced supervisors to focus on their mental wellbeing and develop new coping strategies to feel more fulfilled and in control in their role. Counselling is available for non-acute cases where a person is identified as potentiafly benefitting from additional support with a qualified counsellor. For anyone requiring acute emergency intervention, the Department signposts to other sources of support, including Education Support’s free, confidential 24 hour helpline for staff working in education, the NHS urgent mental health helpline, Samaritans and Shout. In addition, we know some trusts and local authorities provide access to an employee assistance programme or similar intervention for their staff. Awareness of programmes To increase awareness and take up on the programme, the Department and Education Support have worked with stakeholders, including the Local Government Association, National Government Association, and education unions, which has led to a significant increase in registrations. The Department will continue to promote the programme through our networks and sector led communication channels. As set out in Ofsted’s response to the Report, the Department has engaged closely with Ofsted on the support offer, and the inspectorate recognises that it has an important role in making sure there is strong awareness of the wellbeing support that is available. Ofsted has committed to using its ongoing training as a mechanism for reminding inspectors about this. We also welcome Ofsted’s commitment to make sure information about the support available is contained within documents Ofsted shares with schools and other providers as part of the inspection process, and to use its other channels of communication to share information about the support available. Within the Department, Regions Group will ensure all officials are aware of the expanded wellbeing support and will proactively share information about this with Responsible Bodies as part of our business as usual engagement with local authorities and academy trusts. Duty of care School leaders play a vitally important role, and it is the responsibility of all agencies
— the Department, Ofsted, governing boards, local authorities and academy trusts to ensure that they receive the right support. The primary duty of care to school leaders rests with the employer
— and that will be either a local authority, an academy trust or a governing board, and to provide support in fulfilling this role effectively, the Department will write to all Responsible Bodies, attaching this response to your Report, and that of Ofsted. We will set out 6

the responsibilities of each of the bodies in the school system, and commit to working closely with local authorities and academy trusts to ensure that school leaders are well supported in all circumstances, and particularly following an adverse inspection result. We will also set out in full the Department’s support offer to headteachers. Where a school faces an adverse inspection judgement, DfE officials will ask the Responsible Body of the school to ensure that appropriate support is in place to support the headteacher and broader school’s workforce. Once again, we would like to take the opportunity to thank you for highlighting these matters of concern, and for giving us the opportunity to respond. We will continue to work with Ofsted to make sure we have an inspection system that supports schools and teachers, and ultimately secures Ruth’s legacy.

Prevention of Future Deaths Report (Regulation 28): Ofsted’s response

19 January 2024

Prevention of Future Deaths Report (Regulation 28): Ofsted’s response 1

Contents

Introduction from His Majesty’s Chief Inspector ................................................................ 2 Coroner’s concerns in relation to Ofsted and/or the Department for Education .................... 3 Executive summary ........................................................................................................ 4 Coroner’s concern number one ........................................................................................ 6 Coroner’s concern number two ........................................................................................ 9 Coroner’s concern number three ................................................................................... 13 Coroner’s concern number four ..................................................................................... 15 Coroner’s concern number five ...................................................................................... 17 Coroner’s concern number six ....................................................................................... 18 Coroner’s concern number seven ................................................................................... 19

Prevention of Future Deaths Report (Regulation 28): Ofsted’s response 2

Introduction from His Majesty’s Chief Inspector

As a fellow headteacher, I was shocked and saddened by the death of Ruth Perry.

As His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, I would like to express my deepest condolences to Ruth’s family and friends and apologise sincerely for the part our inspection of her school played in her death. As the new HMCI, I will do everything in my power to help ensure that inspections are carried out with professionalism, courtesy, empathy and respect and with consideration for staff welfare. Such tragedies should never happen again, and no one should feel as Ruth did.

We accept the Coroner’s findings. We intend to re-evaluate our internal policies and procedures in light of these findings, so that we can identify where changes need to be made.

And in the weeks and months to come we will listen – to the professionals we work with and to the people we work for. As well as hearing from staff working in education and social care, the ‘Big Listen’ that I intend to launch shortly will hear from the parents, carers, children, young people and learners whom we serve.

This is important because we must carry out our role in a way that is sensitive to the pressures faced by leaders and staff, without losing our focus on children and learners. Our critical work helps to make sure that children and learners have the highest quality of education, training and care. We cannot afford to shy away from difficult decisions and challenging conversations where they are needed in the interests of children. I am determined that we get this delicate balance right.

Below, we respond to each of the Coroner’s areas of concern, setting out what we have already done, what we are doing now, and what we intend to do in the future. We have responded fully to every recommendation. We have already done much – but there is a lot still to do.

The Coroner’s findings focused on inspection of schools, which is reflected in our response, but work is underway across Ofsted to make sure the changes we are making are reflected appropriately across the full suite of remits that we regulate and inspect.

As the new HMCI, I can promise transparency and openness as we work to rebuild and strengthen the confidence of professionals and the public. I know how important it is for the sectors we work with, and for parents and carers, to trust the judgements Ofsted makes. To achieve that aim, we must go about our vital work with professionalism, courtesy, empathy and respect.

HMCI

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Coroner’s concerns in relation to Ofsted and/or the Department for Education

1. The first of these relates to my hypothetical schools A and B point, referred to above1. I am concerned about the impact on school leaders’ welfare that this system may continue to have. Transparency and ease of message to parents are not currently weighed against teachers’ welfare. The current system allows a school that is inadequate in all areas to receive the same overall label as a school that is good in all areas, but with some safeguarding issues that can be repaired by the time the report is published.

2. There is an almost complete absence of Ofsted training or published policy in the following areas:

a. Signs of distress in school leaders during an inspection (this will be obvious to some, but not to all).
b. Practical steps to deal with such distress.
c. Pausing an inspection by reason of the distress of a school leader.
d. Who can attend meetings with the inspectors during the inspection process.

3. Absence of a clear path to raise concerns during an inspection if these cannot be resolved directly with the lead inspector.

4. The confidentiality requirement after an inspection. Some changes have been made already, but this is not yet written into policy. Given how long this policy has been in place, school leaders may fear discussing outcomes with colleagues outside of the school, and mental health professionals, unless this is expressly dealt with in written policy.

5. Timescales for report publication.

6. No learning review of these matters was conducted by Ofsted. There is no policy requiring this to be done.

7. In an Ofsted publication dated 12 June 2023, the Secretary of State for Education was quoted as follows: ‘We must ensure our school leaders have the support they need, which is why today we are significantly expanding our wellbeing support. This expansion will help make sure headteachers have access to support whenever they need it’. The Ofsted witness was not able to clarify what form this additional support has taken.

1 The Coroner defined school A and school B as follows: “Hypothetical school A is good in all areas, but there are safeguarding concerns which can be remedied quickly. Hypothetical school B is dreadful in all respects.”

Prevention of Future Deaths Report (Regulation 28): Ofsted’s response 4

Executive summary

Ofsted accepts the Coroner’s findings.

In this document, we address each of her seven areas of concern. We have described steps already taken, measures being introduced now, and considerations for the future. This work will require a sustained commitment to reflection and learning from everyone at Ofsted, which we are determined to make.

We will act with professionalism, courtesy, empathy and respect towards those we regulate and inspect – not least because we all share a common goal: to put children and learners first.

In this document, we describe actions related to schools – but it is our intention to also apply these measures appropriately to our work with early years, social care and further education providers.

Our actions can be framed by four key themes:

Training

We set a later start date for school and further education (FE) inspections this term to enable us to provide mental health awareness training for all inspectors, in all the areas we work (inspections continued in social care and early years, where we are also the regulator). This training is not just about spotting signs of distress but also about how we work to reduce anxiety while carrying out our crucial duty. We recognise that any form of inspection is likely to be challenging, but it must be proportionate and carried out with care.

We have made a commitment that all lead school and FE inspectors will have completed the training programme before they lead an inspection. The wider inspection workforce will complete the training before the end of March 2024 – anyone who does not complete the training will be unable to inspect. Going forward, this training will form an integral part of how we induct and develop our staff.

New policies and practices

A number of new policies and practices were introduced last year, and more are being introduced now. These include:

• Safeguarding: a rapid return to schools that have been graded inadequate solely due to ineffective safeguarding – allowing them to remedy issues and improve their inspection grade before formal intervention measures take place.

• Pausing inspection: a new policy to allow inspectors, or the responsible body for a school, to request a pause to an inspection, for example if it is necessary to provide additional support for a headteacher.

Prevention of Future Deaths Report (Regulation 28): Ofsted’s response 5

• Confidentiality: a clear policy allowing headteachers to share the outcome of their school’s inspection with their personal support network.

• Complaints and communication: A revised, more responsive complaints process that we are determined is trusted by the sector, including enhanced communication between schools and senior Ofsted staff during inspection, if needed.

Learning

We will appoint an independent expert to lead a learning review of Ofsted’s response to the tragic death of Ruth Perry. We will respond to the recommendations of this review as part of our response to the Big Listen.

At the same time, we will define clearly the circumstances in which a learning review will be commissioned in future and the procedures to be followed.

The Big Listen

We will undertake a comprehensive listening exercise, making use of independent expertise alongside our own work to seek the views of parents, children, learners and professionals within the sectors we regulate and inspect. This will allow us to explore what further steps can be taken in the future. Nothing is off the table; we are determined to be a modern regulator and inspectorate delivering for children and learners, their parents and carers, and the government.

Underpinning our response to the Coroner is a commitment to transparency and partnership working. We will share more of our material with the education and social care professions, and we will work with representative groups as we continue to improve the way we carry out our important role in the best interests of children and learners. In doing so, we will build an Ofsted that enjoys greater confidence from the sectors it regulates and inspects, as well as the children, parents and carers we are all here to serve.

Prevention of Future Deaths Report (Regulation 28): Ofsted’s response 6

Coroner’s concern number one

The first of these relates to my hypothetical schools A and B point, referred to above. I am concerned about the impact on school leaders’ welfare that this system may continue to have. Transparency and ease of message to parents are not currently weighed against teachers’ welfare. The current system allows a school that is inadequate in all areas to receive the same overall label as a school that is good in all areas, but with some safeguarding issues that can be repaired by the time the report is published.

Keeping children safe is of paramount importance to Ofsted. We never want schools to fail on safeguarding, but every school must have effective arrangements in place to safeguard children and young people.

We will do everything we can to help schools demonstrate their effectiveness. And we will be clear and transparent about what is expected of schools to help them meet the required standard.

We agree with the Coroner that the same overall grade for school A and school B should not obscure the clear difference between them. We have taken swift action to address this.

Where a school can correct safeguarding issues immediately, we give the school time to do this during the inspection before a judgement is made, so that fewer schools will be in the position of school A. Where the issues are more serious, but leaders have proven capacity to address these with the urgency needed, we have introduced the opportunity of a rapid reinspection within three months. This will allow the school to put matters right and have its grade changed swiftly.

We are determined to explore what more can be done. Through the Big Listen, we will gather views from parents and professionals on safeguarding’s place within the inspection framework, including its interaction with other inspection judgements.

Ensuring the safety of children will remain paramount for Ofsted. But we are mindful of the impact of an ‘inadequate’ grade on a school, its leaders and the wider community. Through the Big Listen’s consultation on safeguarding, we will explore alternative approaches to inspecting and reporting on school A, including how we can give more time for school A to resolve safeguarding issues, before any report is published.

Action taken prior to the inquest:

1. The safety of children is our first priority. It is one of the first things we look at on inspection. We changed our handbooks in September 2023 to make it clear that providers have the opportunity to fix minor administrative issues while the inspection is ongoing. This is an important change that makes children safer and reassures teachers and leaders that easily fixable administrative errors will not adversely affect the outcome of their inspection.

Prevention of Future Deaths Report (Regulation 28): Ofsted’s response 7

2. Where a safeguarding issue cannot be fixed on inspection, we want to provide otherwise good schools with the opportunity to do so as quickly as possible. This is in the best interest of children, families, and teachers. Since September 2023, our policy states clearly that we return to otherwise good schools (school A) within three months of the inspection report, enabling schools to remedy issues urgently and providing an opportunity for them to achieve a good or better overall grade. The first inspection under the new policy occurred in November 2023. The school’s overall effectiveness grade improved to ‘good’.

3. No headteacher should feel that the responsibility of an inspection and its outcome falls solely on their shoulders. In June 2023, we announced that we would look at depersonalising language used in inspection reports, the public-facing record of the inspection, so that we refer by default to ‘the school’ rather than to individuals. We also amended the contextual information within inspection reports to refer to all those with responsibility for a school. We implemented this change in September 2023.

4. We know that providers have concerns about consistency of inspection practice across our workforce. To further support inspectors to be consistent in making safeguarding judgements, we introduced a national safeguarding duty desk in April 2023. Since that time, all inspectors have been required to call the duty desk number if their emerging safeguarding evidence could result in an ineffective judgement, to receive support and challenge. In autumn term 2023, calls were made in relation to 269 schools, with 17 of them ultimately judged ineffective2. We delivered national training to inspectors in September 2023 on the changes we made, to reinforce these changes and promote consistency of practice.

5. We understand the importance of being open and transparent about our practices so that leaders and teachers know and understand what to expect when we inspect them. We have published blogs and delivered webinars to explain the changes we made. Our webinar on ‘How Ofsted inspects safeguarding’ was presented live to 1,036 people in September 2023, with a further 7,007 individuals watching the recording on YouTube. Our safeguarding blog has also been read 6,000 times.

Action taken immediately following the inquest:

1. We acknowledged that school leaders might have concerns about being inspected immediately after the inquest and so we offered schools with a scheduled inspection in the week commencing 11 December 2023 the opportunity to defer. 62% of headteachers opted to continue with their scheduled inspection.

What we propose to do next:

1. We will conduct a comprehensive listening exercise, the Big Listen, across the range of sectors we regulate and inspect. This will allow us to hear directly from children and learners, parents, and professionals about the strengths and weaknesses of Ofsted’s

2 For transparency: The remaining 252 schools would not all have been deemed ineffective without the existence of the safeguarding duty desk.

Prevention of Future Deaths Report (Regulation 28): Ofsted’s response 8

current approach to regulation and inspection. We intend to publish details of the Big Listen by March 2024 and aim to complete it by June 2024.

2. We know we need to go further to continue to improve our processes and to rebuild the confidence of the sector in our work. Between January and March 2024, we will conduct a formal internal review of where aspects of safeguarding fit within the individual judgements of the education inspection framework, subject to challenge from an expert group. We will explore having safeguarding as a standalone judgement, decoupled from the leadership and management grade. We intend to complete this internal review in time to consult on options through the Big Listen, with the response to the Big Listen setting out our agreed approach to reform.

3. We will examine whether there are further changes we can make to give more time for improvement for a school with ineffective safeguarding but judged good or better in all other areas (school A). As above, the Big Listen will seek views from parents and professionals, with an agreed approach communicated through our response.

4. We will carefully consider and balance the different demands placed on us as a regulator (such as in early years and social care) compared to where we have an inspection duty only, shaping the most appropriate ways forward for each remit of our work. Similarly, our response to the Big Listen will set out our agreed response, following extensive consultation.

5. Where appropriate, we will instigate changes immediately. We will consult on any major changes that are announced through our response to the Big Listen and instigate changes during the 2024/25 academic year. We will aim to publish this consultation by September 2024.

6. Finally, we will look carefully at how we can better inform the sectors we work across about the regulatory requirements in relation to safeguarding, including highlighting expectations set out in ‘Keeping children safe in education’.

Prevention of Future Deaths Report (Regulation 28): Ofsted’s response 9

Coroner’s concern number two

There is an almost complete absence of Ofsted training or published policy in the following areas:

a. Signs of distress in school leaders during an inspection (this will be obvious to some, but not to all).
b. Practical steps to deal with such distress.
c. Pausing an inspection by reason of the distress of a school leader.
d. Who can attend meetings with the inspectors during the inspection process.

We understand the considerable pressures that inspections can bring for school leaders. The best inspections are those where inspectors work with the provider, making inspection a collaborative process that focuses on the education and well-being of children and young people. We want our inspectors to build positive relationships with leaders and staff, demonstrated through their professionalism, courtesy, empathy and respect. Throughout, leaders and staff must be treated respectfully and sensitively even when inspection is challenging.

The Coroner’s inquest made clear that Ofsted has relied too heavily on custom, practice and inspectors’ professional experience and expertise to support leaders’ well-being on inspection, instead of providing inspectors with clear, written guidance (2a and 2b).

Inspectors should take steps to minimise stress and anxiety during inspection. They should be able to recognise signs of distress in those they meet and know how to respond. Ofsted will therefore immediately begin developing clear and robust policies and training to improve practice and enable inspectors to identify and respond to signs of distress in leaders and staff (2a and 2b).

We have taken an immediate first step to ensure that every school and college inspection will be led by an inspector that has completed training that helps them understand and recognise mental health issues they may encounter on inspection – including how to minimise additional stress from the inspection process. In order to deliver on this commitment, we have taken the decision not to begin routine school inspections until 22 January 2024.

We know it is important that our entire inspection workforce completes this training. Over the coming weeks, we will ensure that all inspectors complete a full package of mental health training – with all school and FE inspectors completing this before they lead an inspection. All other inspectors will complete this training by the end of March 2024. Any inspector that has not completed training by 31 March 2024 will be prevented from inspecting until the training is complete (2a).

But we need to go further. We will establish a long-term development programme for inspectors that helps them to support leaders’ well-being. We will publish our development roadmap for this in spring 2024.

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The Coroner is correct that there has previously been no clear, written policy for pausing inspections. Every inspector and every school leader must have clarity about when and how to pause inspections. We also want to give leaders confidence that a request for a pause will not affect adversely the judgements made about a school. In response to our consultation on complaints about inspection, we introduced a new process for pausing inspection in December 2023, using a national helpline. We have since developed and published a national policy on pausing inspections (2c).

Through the Big Listen, we will ask the sector how to make it easier for leaders or the responsible body to ask for a pause to inspection or to raise concerns without fear of the consequences. We need to build the sector’s confidence that when something goes wrong or an inspection is not conducted with the professionalism, courtesy, empathy and respect that we expect, we want to hear from them. As an organisation, we want to learn and do better. We set ourselves high standards – and we want to be held to these standards. Through the Big Listen, we will work with the sector to ensure our approach to resolving issues reflects our desire to meet the high standards we set ourselves (2c).

Action taken prior to the inquest:

1. Building collaborative relationships based on professionalism, courtesy, empathy and respect should be at the heart of good inspection. In January 2023, we trained inspectors on ‘Seeing the Big Picture’, focused on maintaining an approach to inspection that does not place disproportionate weight on evidence collected from a small number of pupils, parents and/or staff. In September 2023, we built on this training by delivering a session on ‘Doing Good as You Go’ at our national conference for school inspectors. This session set out a step-by-step model for building positive relationships with leaders and staff. It equipped inspectors with practical strategies to manage anxiety and stress during an inspection (2a and 2b).

2. We have since added training content on ‘Doing Good as You Go’ into the induction materials for new His Majesty’s Inspectors and Ofsted inspectors in schools (2a and 2b).

3. We know that there was uncertainty around who could sit in on meetings between inspectors and school staff. In April 2023, we issued a statement setting out several changes, including that all headteachers and teachers could have a colleague from their school or trust join discussions with inspectors. We changed our handbooks to reflect this (2d).

Action taken immediately following the inquest:

1. To begin the process of better supporting our inspectors to recognise and respond to signs of stress and anxiety, we did not begin routine school and FE inspections in the first few weeks of January 2024. This was in order to deliver immediate training to inspectors. The purpose was to promote consistency and highlight changes to our inspection practice to reduce providers’ anxiety and manage any visible signs of stress (2a and 2b).

2. Training alone cannot solve the issues identified by the Coroner. In December 2023, we introduced a helpline for managing concerns about the inspection process. This helpline

Prevention of Future Deaths Report (Regulation 28): Ofsted’s response 11

ensures that all schools and other providers have an escalation point if they have concerns about the inspection, including if they need to consider a pause. We have shared details of this helpline with professional associations (2a, 2b and 2c).

3. To ensure this change becomes embedded and trusted by the sector, we delivered a briefing to school inspectors in December 2023 to explain the new system and reinforce that they must contact the national helpline to seek further advice from senior colleagues when they are concerned about the well-being of leaders or staff at the school. We are rolling these briefings out to all our inspectors throughout January (2a and 2b).

4. Since December 2023, all lead school inspectors have been required to request the contact details of the person responsible for leaders’ well-being and professional oversight – the responsible body. Inspectors must request this prior to the start of the inspection and explain that they will contact this individual if they have concerns so that the headteacher receives swift support (2a and 2b).

5. From December 2023, during notification calls, inspectors have been required to actively remind and encourage headteachers to have someone accompany them at end-of-day inspection team meetings. Inspectors emphasise that school leaders are invited to attend the meeting but are not required to, with no conclusions drawn if they do not wish to attend. We reiterated this in our December 2023 briefing to inspectors, helping to ensure that we see – and schools experience – consistent practice from our inspector workforce (2d).

6. As well as having a process in place when inspectors have concerns, we know we need to do more to ensure our inspectors are well equipped to spot signs of distress and work in a manner that reasonably minimises this. From January 2024, we began delivering a package of mental health awareness training for all our inspectors focused on how to minimise anxiety and stress on inspection, and how to respond to concerns about the welfare of leaders and staff. We have worked with experts to develop this package, which includes training by Mental Health First Aid England. Following the initial training for inspectors on 8 January 2024, inspectors are receiving more in-depth, small-group training, so that inspections can resume on 22 January 2024. All inspectors will be required to attend this training by 31 March 2024. In addition, we have committed to ensuring that no school or FE provider will be inspected until the lead inspector has completed the full initial package of awareness training (2a and 2b).

7. We have published a new policy on pausing an inspection of a maintained school or academy where a serious issue has been identified that requires substantial action to be taken. We have worked closely with the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), the National Association of Headteachers (NAHT) and the Confederation of School Trusts (CST) to develop this policy, which will take effect on 22 January 2024.

8. We inspect to make sure that children are safe and receiving a high-quality education, so we will aim to resume inspections as soon as possible when a pause is necessary. This pause will allow the responsible body to put in place support for school leaders and/or ensure the school has alternative leadership in place, where necessary. In developing our pause policy, we were mindful that inspections can – and sometimes must – make difficult judgements where children’s safety or education are compromised.

Prevention of Future Deaths Report (Regulation 28): Ofsted’s response 12

9. We have updated our handbooks and practice to make it even clearer that leaders can, where appropriate, be accompanied to inspector team meetings. Our handbooks now include greater detail about the purpose and nature of the inspection team meeting, and attendance at it. These updates will be published before school inspections resume on 22 January 2024 (2a, 2b and 2d).

What we propose to do next:

1. We know we need to work hard to embed change across Ofsted and throughout the system. In addition to making change happen, we want headteachers to have confidence in our changed approach and to know that inspectors will always treat them with professionalism, courtesy, empathy and respect. To aid this, we will develop a long-term programme of training for inspectors on mental health and supporting leaders’ well-being. We will publish this development roadmap in spring 2024 (2a and 2b).

2. Taken together, the training, policies and processes we are putting in place will ensure we are better equipped to deal with the exceptional occasions when a school leader is dealing with mental distress and an inspection needs to be paused. It is important that we act to build the profession’s confidence in our work. That is why we will create an expert reference group, to look at aspects of training and where well-being might be incorporated more explicitly across the education inspection framework. This group will provide constructive challenge to Ofsted, helping to drive constant improvement in our practices, and delivering better quality inspection for children and education staff. The group will feed directly into the Big Listen and will continue to support and challenge Ofsted as changes are made to the education inspection framework and its implementation (2a, 2b and 2c).

3. We are also pleased that the DfE’s Regions Groups will be proactively notifying responsible bodies when a provider receives an adverse inspection outcome. Officials from the DfE’s Regions Group will contact the responsible body of the school to check that appropriate support is in place for the headteacher and the wider school workforce. This important change will help to ensure that leaders and staff are supported, if necessary, once the inspection is completed.

Prevention of Future Deaths Report (Regulation 28): Ofsted’s response 13

Coroner’s concern number three

Absence of a clear path to raise concerns during an inspection if these cannot be resolved directly with the lead inspector.

We are committed to making sure that inspection is a professional, courteous, empathetic and respectful process, focused on children, where school leaders feel able to discuss concerns with inspectors openly. We do not want leaders to worry about the consequences of raising concerns about an inspector or an inspection. We need to do more to provide surety for schools and providers on how they can raise concerns safely and have them resolved.

We have taken decisive action to give leaders the means to raise concerns with someone other than the lead inspector. In December 2023, we introduced a national helpline which gives leaders with concerns direct access to a senior leader within Ofsted who is independent of the inspection process.

But we need to do more to help the sector feel comfortable doing this. We want leaders to know that, if they raise a concern or complaint, it will be dealt with professionally and swiftly, and that the choice to raise a concern will not impact negatively on the judgements made by Ofsted about their school. Through the Big Listen, we will ask the sector if there are other things they think we might do to improve trust in raising concerns and our work generally. In dialogue with leaders and teachers, we will look for ways to demystify the way schools and providers can raise complaints and concerns.

Action taken prior to the inquest:

1. We took action throughout 2023 to make it simpler for providers to interact with and complain directly to Ofsted, both during and after inspections. The relationship between inspectors and leaders is a vital component of delivering professional, courteous, empathetic and respectful inspections. To promote this, we clarified the purpose and importance of offering regular ‘keeping-in-touch’ (KIT) meetings in our national training in September 2023. We explain these to leaders during the initial calls and lead inspectors emphasise that these are a good place to raise concerns or issues throughout the inspection.

2. We know that some providers have found our complaints process difficult to navigate. From June 2023, we therefore consulted on changes to our complaints and post- inspection processes. We made four main proposals:

a. Enhancing on-site professional dialogue during inspections to help address any issues
b. Introducing a new opportunity for providers to contact Ofsted the day after an inspection
c. Introducing new arrangements for finalising reports and considering formal challenges to inspection outcomes

Prevention of Future Deaths Report (Regulation 28): Ofsted’s response 14

d. Introducing direct escalation to the Independent Complaints Adjudication Service for Ofsted, removing an internal review step in our complaints process.

3. We have decided to implement all of these proposals, as set out in our response to the consultation published in November 2023. Three of the four proposals above attracted over 80% support from respondents. The other (point 2c) attracted just under 80% support. We have piloted point 2b, described above. We have found it provides considerable reassurance for schools but we know we can go further.

Action taken immediately following the inquest:

1. We recognise that schools want to know how they can contact a senior inspector not involved with the inspection if they have concerns. We have introduced a clear and simple process that allows them to speak to a senior Ofsted employee. Since December 2023, at the start of inspection, we have provided schools and other inspected providers with a phone number where they can contact a senior inspector to discuss concerns if they feel that they don’t want to raise them during KiT meetings. We explain to a provider that they can share this number with other senior leaders and their responsible body (such as the local authority or multi-academy trust).

What we propose to do next:

1. Going further, we will work with the Confederation of School Trusts, the Association of Directors of Children’s Services, the Local Government Association and the National Governance Association to make sure that the roles, responsibilities and process for raising and responding to concerns about leaders’ welfare during an inspection are understood clearly by the inspection team and the responsible body.

2. We will also clarify in our handbooks, accompanying guidance, code of conduct, complaints procedures and during stakeholder engagement, how providers can raise concerns about inspectors’ behaviour, including any safeguarding concerns. We have already started this process, for example publishing an update to the education inspection handbooks, and intend to complete it by the end of March 2024.

Prevention of Future Deaths Report (Regulation 28): Ofsted’s response 15

Coroner’s concern number four

The confidentiality requirement after an inspection. Some changes have been made already, but this is not yet written into policy. Given how long this policy has been in place, school leaders may fear discussing outcomes with colleagues outside of the school, and mental health professionals, unless this is expressly dealt with in written policy.

We have now updated our handbooks to make it clear that leaders can share the provisional inspection outcome and findings with whomever they deem appropriate. Leaders can share their provisional inspection outcomes with colleagues, family, medical advisers and their wider support group as they see fit.

We recognise that it is Ofsted’s responsibility to ensure that this is clear to leaders. We have already taken steps to do this by updating key documentation and briefing inspectors on this approach has already begun. We will make sure we share this message as widely as possible, both on inspection and through other channels of communication.

Actions taken prior to the inquest:

1. In March 2023, we reviewed all our documentation and identified a lack of clarity in key documents about whether leaders could share provisional inspection outcomes and draft reports, and with whom.

2. In June 2023, we made extensive updates to our handbooks, letters and other documents to remedy this ambiguity. We have made it clear that leaders can share provisional inspection outcomes with whomever they deem appropriate, including people unconnected with a school’s work.

Actions taken immediately following the inquest:

1. We must have an unambiguously clear policy on who leaders can share provisional outcomes and draft reports with. Following the Coroner’s findings, we recognised the importance of explicitly naming mental health professionals. We are therefore updating our handbooks to make it clear that leaders can share provisional outcomes with partners, health professionals and those providing personal support.

2. We acknowledge how important it is to be consistent in embedding a change. We recognise that this is particularly important given that leaders may still think that we have a strict confidentiality requirement. We therefore briefed inspectors on this significant amendment during our 11 December 2023 briefing.

Prevention of Future Deaths Report (Regulation 28): Ofsted’s response 16

What we propose to do next:

1. Throughout 2024 and 2025, we will use sector-facing webinars, events, communication with and through professional associations and unions, blogs and other channels to communicate the message that leaders can share provisional outcomes and the draft report with those they deem appropriate, including partners, health professionals and those providing personal support.

Prevention of Future Deaths Report (Regulation 28): Ofsted’s response 17

Coroner’s concern number five

Timescales for report publication.

Publishing reports in a timely way is important. Whether the outcome of an inspection is favourable or not, school leaders, staff and parents should not be left waiting too long for inspection reports to be published. Inspection reports are an important source of information for parents about the education and care their children are receiving. We announced changes to our post-inspection and complaints process in November 2023 that will allow us to publish reports more quickly.

We are now going further by carrying out a review of our quality assurance processes to see if we can shorten further the time between inspection and publication of the report. Our goal is to produce reports that leaders and parents agree are accurate and coherent, as quickly as possible.

We will use the Big Listen to help explore proposed changes with leaders, parents and others. As we do so, we will remember that inspection judgements and subsequent reports can have significant consequences for leaders and schools. It is important they undergo thorough quality assurance checks to ensure that the evidence base supporting the judgements is robust and the findings proportionate. We want to strike the right balance so that providers feel that the process is fair and swift, but not rushed, and that any challenges to findings are considered thoroughly.

Action taken prior to the inquest:

1. In November 2023, we announced changes to our post-inspection and complaints process which we anticipate will allow us to publish reports more quickly. These changes are outlined further in response to concern three and in full here.

What we propose to do next:

1. During the first half of 2024, we will review our quality assurance processes to see if we can make further changes to reduce the amount of time between an inspection and the publication of a report. Our findings will feed into the Big Listen and will be part of the proposals we will put to the sector and parents for their views on balancing the need for robust findings with providing timely reporting.

2. In some inspections, the complexity of the findings requires more time than the norm before an outcome is made public. We know the sector understands that these exceptional cases do occur from time to time. But we also know that the anticipation of a result from the school community can add to the pressure felt by leaders and staff. That is why, where reports do take longer to be published, we will endeavour to explain why. We will consult on how to do this through the Big Listen.

Prevention of Future Deaths Report (Regulation 28): Ofsted’s response 18

Coroner’s concern number six

No learning review of these matters was conducted by Ofsted. There is no policy requiring this to be done.

Ofsted has learned many lessons following the tragic death of Ruth Perry, including from the inquest. We made changes to inspection practice in March, June, September and December
2023. We are determined to take further action and to learn the lessons from this tragedy.

However, the Coroner is right that Ofsted has not yet conducted a formal learning review. That is why, by March 2024, we will appoint a recognised expert from the education sector to lead an independent learning review of Ofsted’s response to the tragic death of Ruth Perry. The independent expert will consider whether Ofsted’s internal policies and processes for responding to tragic incidents need to be revised. We will publish the recommendations of the independent expert and formally respond to these recommendations as part of the response to the Big Listen.

In tandem, we will draw on existing practice in the sectors we regulate and inspect to define clearly the circumstances in which a learning review will be commissioned, who will conduct it, how it will be carried out and arrangements for publishing and disseminating the lessons learned. Ofsted will establish a culture of challenging processes, policies and procedures to ensure that we meet the high standards we set ourselves, embedding critical reflection in what we do. The things we learn through this process of reflection will help us better serve children, learners and professionals.

Prevention of Future Deaths Report (Regulation 28): Ofsted’s response 19

Coroner’s concern number seven

In an Ofsted publication dated 12 June 2023, the Secretary of State for Education was quoted as follows: ‘We must ensure our school leaders have the support they need, which is why today we are significantly expanding our wellbeing support. This expansion will help make sure headteachers have access to support whenever they need it’. The Ofsted witness was not able to clarify what form this additional support has taken.

We recognise that the DfE has ownership of the support available to headteachers, but we do believe that our inspectorate can play a positive role in ensuring support is known about and taken up when necessary. We have engaged closely with the DfE on this and recognise that inspectors should be conversant with this support and ready to remind leaders that it is available. Through our ongoing inspector training, we will reinforce the expectation that they share this information with leaders at the beginning of an inspection. We will make sure that this information is contained within documents we share with providers on inspection. We will also use our other existing channels of communication to share information about the support available to leaders, which will not only help them but also increase their capacity to support the children in their care.

Prevention of Future Deaths Report (Regulation 28): Ofsted’s response 20

The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Dear Mrs Connor,

Re: Response to Regulation 28: Report to Prevent Future Deaths 12.12.24

Please see below Reading Borough Council’s response to the matters of concern set out in your Regulation 28 Report in respect of Reading Borough Council. The Council accepts your findings in full. Ruth’s loss continues to be felt deeply by the Reading school community. Following Ruth’s untimely death, we have taken a number of steps to better understand and respond to what impacts on headteachers’ wellbeing, to support their wellbeing and to develop our collective response to an Ofsted inspection. The remainder of this letter sets out both actions already taken as well as work currently underway to address in order, the areas of concern raised in your report.

Area of Concern 1 Reading Borough Council indicated an intention to adopt a much more robust and proactive approach to dealing with Ofsted, particularly where there are concerns about an inspection. This is not in written policy or guidance – which may go some way towards reassuring school leaders that their employer ‘has their back’ – both now and in future years.

Actions Taken & Underway Brighter Futures for Children Ltd (on behalf of the Council) has consulted with Head Teachers regarding a more robust and proactive approach by responding to inspections on behalf of school leaders and Governors, through the termly meeting of Reading Headteachers (Friday 12 January 2024) and via the Reading school primary and secondary phase head teacher associations (week commencing 15 January). The principle of the new approach is that Brighter Futures for Children will work with school leaders to understand any concerns regarding an inspection and offer to undertake challenge on a school’s behalf before, during and after inspection, based on a robust evidence base. This builds on current practice which supports schools to consider

Mrs Heidi J Connor Reading Town Hall Blagrave Street Reading RG1 0QH

Chief Executive

Civic Offices, Bridge Street, Reading, RG1 2LU

Date: 31 January 2024

challenge themselves but does go further, in taking on responsibility for raising the challenge on behalf of schools1. Reading school leaders’ and governors’ weekly briefing on the 19 January confirmed this commitment, and provided details of what it will look like in practice. The commitment and practice will be written into the revised School Effectiveness Framework, which will be recommended for approval at the Council’s Adults, Children’s, and Education Committee on 20 March 2024. The written commitment which will be presented to the Committee for approval includes the following:
• Arrangements for Brighter Futures for Children to identify risk of stress across all Reading schools, in writing, before, during and after inspections, including the mitigations that Brighter Futures for Children and Reading Borough Council will secure to reduce the risks of stress for school staff.
• Arrangements for Brighter Futures for Children to offer to challenge an Ofsted inspection during, and after an inspection, where there is evidence that the judgement or process of inspection is not fair and balanced, rather than solely on the published Education Inspection Framework criteria.
• An offer from Brighter Futures for Children to collate feedback from school staff on inspection conduct to evaluate against the Ofsted Code of Conduct on a school’s behalf, or to provide tools and resources for schools to do this for themselves.

Area of Concern 2 Reading Borough Council also did not carry out any form of internal review. I was not made aware of any policy setting out when such an internal review should take place.

Actions Taken & Underway During the inquest, the Council confirmed that a learning review would be undertaken. The Council has commissioned an independent external reviewer to undertake the learning review. Two co-reviewers were appointed on 5 January 2024. The terms of reference for the review have been drafted and will be shared with Mrs Perry’s family before they are finalised. have been invited to meet with the reviewers to facilitate this. The review will take 12 weeks and is expected to conclude in April 2024. This addresses the commitment the Council made at the Inquest. As regards any future internal reviews, we recognise that, however rare, there may be exceptional circumstances where a staff member may be harmed in the course of their employment. This is a matter which we will seek to cover within our HR policies. The intended outcome being that we have a policy or process to consider when an independent learning review might be appropriate. We intend to discuss this matter with Union colleagues and take a proposal through our normal channels of Union engagement. The final sign off for all such policies lies with the Council’s Personnel Committee which meets quarterly and is delegated to agree all such topics on behalf of the Council. This will be presented to Personnel Committee for agreement on 11th July 2024.

Area of Concern 3 We heard in evidence that school leaders have received correspondence from Reading Borough Council about what mental health support options are available. I am concerned

1 Schools includes nursery schools and all primary and secondary schools regardless of status.

to know whether there is now written policy or guidance about communicating this, so that this continues to happen in future years.

Actions Taken & Underway Reading Borough Council is committed to promoting and supporting the welfare and mental health of all its staff including Head Teachers. Brighter Futures for Children undertook a Head Teacher wellbeing and mental health survey in May 2023. Findings from that survey and from Head Teachers’ performance management reviews have informed the development of a wellbeing entitlement offer and support package. The wellbeing entitlement offer, and support package was endorsed by the Education Partnership Board on 8 December 2023. The Head Teacher wellbeing and mental health survey will be repeated annually, and the survey will inform updates to the entitlement offer and support package. The wellbeing entitlement offer, and support package is being delivered in 3 strands:
i. We have reconfirmed to Reading school leaders the existing staff wellbeing offer which includes access to the Employee Assistance Programme that provides independent advice, information and support through: 24hr/365 day phone service; 6 telephone counselling sessions for each issue each year; coverage for staff and their dependents (including up to 3 months after leaving the organisation); live chat; telephone debt counselling; monthly webinars; online wellbeing portal and mobile app and wellbeing tools.
ii. We have extended this wellbeing offer to include coaching, mentoring or executive support. The Community school leaders’ and Chairs of Governing Board’s weekly briefing on 19 January 2024 included a reminder of the mental health support available through the Employee Assistance Programme and confirmed that this new entitlement to coaching, mentoring or executive support was available.
iii. Reading Borough Council School leaders at their termly meeting on 12 January were consulted on a proposed Reading Borough – wide Parent Carer and Community Acceptable Behaviour Policy which will be implemented in practice on 19th February
2024. This policy will complement a proposed Reading Borough Council Zero tolerance and prevention of abuse to staff policy, a draft of which went to Reading Borough Council’s Corporate Health and Safety Committee on 18 January 2024.

This offer will be written into the School Effectiveness Framework for consideration by the Council’s Adult’s, Children’s, and Education Committee on 20 March 2024.

Timetable for implementation:

Action Area of concern 1 School leaders written to, to confirm commitment to proactively and robustly challenge Ofsted inspections and judgements (based on evidence), including practical arrangements in place 19-01-24 (completed) Write into School Effectiveness Framework the Council’s approach to challenging an inspection 19-02-24 (completed) Agree revisions to School Effectiveness Framework through Reading Borough Council’s ACE Committee 20-Mar-24 Share updated School Effectiveness Framework with school leaders 19-Apr-24 Area of concern 2 Appoint reviewers to conduct an independent learning review 05-01-24 (completed) Finalise terms of reference 16-Feb-24 Conclude independent learning review 30-Apr-24 Write into HR policy when a learning review should be considered 30-Apr-24 Consider report and agree action plan through Brighter Futures for Children’s Board 23-May-24 Consider report and agree action plan through Reading Borough Council’s ACE Committee 10-Jul-24 Agree revisions to HR policy through Reading Borough Council’s Personnel Committee 11-Jul-24 Area of concern 3 School leaders written to, to confirm wellbeing offer 19-01-24 (completed) Write into School Effectiveness Framework the Council’s offer of wellbeing support 19-Feb-24 Agree School Effectiveness Framework through Reading Borough Council’s ACE Committee 20-Mar-24 Share updated School Effectiveness Framework with schools 19-Apr-24

I trust that the above provides you with assurance that the Council has and is taking appropriate action to address the concerns raised.