Peerage for Ofsted chief at time of head's suicide would be 'an insult'

Amanda Spielman, Ofsted's chief inspector when headteacher Ruth Perry took her own life after a bruising school inspection, is poised to join the House of Lords after being nominated by the Conservatives, the Observer can reveal.

- Anna Fazackerley

Spielman, who this month launched what was widely seen as an overtly political attack on Labour's schools bill, is one of several names on former prime minister Rishi Sunak's list, due to be put forward for approval as part of the annual birthday honours. Her nomination was met with outrage by Perry's family, while school leaders described it as "obscene" and "an insult to every teacher in the country".

Perry took her own life in January 2023, after an Ofsted inspection that downgraded her school, Caversham primary in Reading, to the lowest rating of inadequate.

After news of Perry's death broke, Spielman angered schools by taking a week to say publicly that she was "deeply sorry" for the family's loss and resisting calls to pause inspections. A coroner ruled that the inspection, at times "rude and intimidating", contributed to the headteacher's death, and issued an extraordinary prevention of future deaths report calling for urgent changes to inspections, including training for inspectors on responding to distress. Spielman, however, said in interviews last year that her organisation had made no errors during the inspection.