LABOUR'S shadow education secretary has said the party will revamp the current Ofsted grading system following the death of a Berkshire headteacher earlier this year.

Bridget Phillipson said the party would end the system of “one or two-word” school ratings such as “outstanding” and “inadequate”, instead grading schools in a wider range of areas.

The comments came after headteacher Ruth Perry, of Caversham Primary School in Reading, Berkshire, took her own life in January when an Ofsted report downgraded her school from the highest rating to the lowest.

There has been heavy criticism of the schools watchdog and its system from education unions and Ms Perry’s family following her death.

Ofsted inspections are a “brutal process” and they need to change, the vice-president of the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) has said.

Speaking at the Times Education Summit in London on Thursday (June 8), Ms Phillipson said: “Labour believes in inspection precisely because we are a party of high and rising standards in our schools, but if our current inspection system is letting them down then Labour’s view is simple – it needs to better.

“That is why Labour will change Ofsted for the better. An end to the one or two-word summary judgment, a richer scorecard showing where things are right, as well as where things need to be better, and an annual inspection of safeguarding issues.

“There are schools that went a decade without any inspection under the Conservatives, and I have two words for that: requires improvement.”

Several other notable political figures spoke or formed part of panels at the annual summit, including minister for skills, apprenticeships and higher education Robert Halfon and former Conservative Party leader Lord William Hague.

The commission made 12 key recommendations for education, one of which called for a reformed Ofsted and new “school report card”.

Ms Phillipson later said maths and English were vital to the party’s education policies, before declaring that Labour was “the party of education”.

This comes after Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan, is said to be “considering urgent actions” to change the way school inspections operate.

Ms Perry’s sister, Professor Julia Waters, met with the Education Secretary on Wednesday (June 7), where they discussed reforming school inspections.

Reforms would “prioritise the well-being of teachers and school leaders”.

Prof Waters said: “Ruth’s death has left an aching, unfillable hole in the lives of her family, and the lives of so many others. We should be doing everything we can to prevent such tragedies from occurring in the future.

“I am pleased that the Education Secretary has shown willingness to listen to the clear concerns of many people about the well-being of school leaders, and to consider urgent actions to reform school inspection to prioritise the well-being of teachers and school leaders, as well as of pupils and parents."