Ofsted’s plans to prevent further deaths following the suicide of headteacher Ruth Perry have been welcomed by her family and union leaders, but they have called for more work to be done.

The proposals, which include new guidelines showing school leaders how to stop an Ofsted inspection if staff show signs of distress, have been published in response to senior coroner Heidi Connor’s prevention of future deaths report.

Mrs Perry killed herself after an Ofsted report downgraded her Caversham Primary School, in Reading, from its highest rating to its lowest over safeguarding concerns.

In December, Ms Connor concluded the Ofsted inspection on November 15-16 in 2022 “likely contributed” to Mrs Perry’s death.

The education watchdog’s plans include an independent learning review of Ofsted’s response to the death of Mrs Perry, a listening exercise, reviewing where safeguarding fits within inspection judgments and training for all inspectors to recognise and respond to signs of distress in school leaders.

Mrs Perry’s sister, Professor Julia Waters, said Ofsted’s new direction was “encouraging”, but “much work now needs to be done to bring about the radical overhaul to the culture of school inspections”.

She added: “Had these reforms been in place just over a year ago, perhaps my beautiful sister Ruth might still be with us today.

“The responses from Ofsted and the Department for Education go some way to addressing the concerns raised by the coroner and our family about the brutality of the current inspection system. Much work now needs to be done to bring about the radical overhaul to the culture of school inspections, so that a tragedy like Ruth’s cannot happen again.”

Professor Waters said she was “disappointed that the Government has opted to keep misleading and harmful single-word judgments”.

“Whether these brand a school as ‘outstanding’ or ‘inadequate’, or the grades in between, these blunt verdicts obscure many of the important details,” she said.

“As the coroner noted, Ruth was devastated by the impact of such language. Parents, teachers, governors and others should be encouraged to engage with the details of inspection findings, and not just fixate on one or two words. Simplicity may be convenient for government bureaucrats, but it acts against the true interests of children, parents and teachers.”

Professor Waters also said she was concerned at the plan to resume Ofsted school inspections from Monday, and she hopes the new measures “genuinely reduce stress and anxiety in schools that get the call next week”.

She added: “Sir Martyn Oliver faces a huge challenge to drive through meaningful reform and to restore trust in Ofsted, but we have been impressed by his commitment so far. I wish him well in his efforts. Ofsted says its mission is to raise standards and improve lives, and Sir Martyn needs the same ambition for change within his own organisation.”

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said Ofsted’s actions “do not address all the problems with the inspection system”, but they are “positive steps in the right direction”.

He said: “This must be the beginning of a process for Ofsted and the Government to improve the way in which schools and colleges are inspected – one that makes the system fairer, less punitive and more supportive.

“Our discussions with Ofsted and its new chief inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver, over the past few weeks have given us grounds for cautious optimism that there is a genuine willingness to reset the relationship between the inspectorate and those it inspects. This is badly needed because that relationship has reached rock bottom, and it will take time and energy to win the confidence of a sector that feels battered and bruised by an excessively harsh inspection system.”

And Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said there has been a “welcome change in tone from Ofsted this year”, and early actions the watchdog has taken “are a small step in the right direction”.

He also said that “more needs to be done” to fully address the concerns school leaders face.

Mr Whiteman added that NAHT has compiled a report into the “changes necessary to make our inspection system fair, proportionate and humane”, which includes support from school leaders for the removal of one-word judgments.

But Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said Ofsted’s plans “do not match the scale of the problem that it inflicts on schools”.

He said: “Ofsted inspections have inconsistent results. They penalise schools with disadvantaged pupil intakes. They do not contribute to school improvement. On the contrary, pressure from Ofsted leads schools towards a narrow focus on test and exam results. Interrogation and confrontation are built into the system.”

He added: “We need much more than impression management and damage control. The time for change that addresses fundamental issues has come.”