Source · Select Committees · Education Committee
Recommendation 4
4
Accepted in Part
Require Ofsted to urgently address seven concerns from Ruth Perry's coroner's report and report progress.
Recommendation
The serious nature of a Prevention of Future Deaths report will not be lost on the new HMCI. We expect him to make every effort to address the coroner’s report fully. Ofsted should review the seven areas of concern set out in the coroner’s report following the inquest into the death of Ruth Perry and put in place changes to ensure that each of these have been addressed as a matter of urgency. They must monitor the impact of the changes they have already put in place and commit to making further changes if these have not been shown to have a meaningful impact. Going forward we expect HMCI to report to this Committee on a six-monthly basis on Ofsted’s progress in addressing these significant concerns. (Paragraph 17) The inspection process
Government Response Summary
The government states it has responded fully to the coroner’s report and committed to appointing an independent expert this month to lead a learning review of Ofsted’s policies regarding tragic incidents. They will respond to this review's recommendations as part of the Big Listen, but do not explicitly commit to reporting to the committee every six months.
Government Response
Accepted in Part
HM Government
Accepted in Part
Since we gave evidence to the Committee, we have responded in full to the coroner’s Prevention of Future Deaths Report. In our response to the coroner’s report, we made it clear that we would continue to improve our policies and processes in order to rebuild the confidence of the sector in the work that we do. Through the Big Listen (launched on Friday 8 March 2024), we stand ready to hear feedback, accept criticism and reform how we operate. Concerning the Committee’s Recommendations 1 and 2, we also committed, in our response to the coroner, to appoint an independent expert to lead a learning review of Ofsted’s response to the 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. The independent expert will be appointed this month. We will respond to the recommendations of this independent review as part of our response to the Big Listen.