Ofsted and Ruth Perry: The dam has burst on strength of feeling

Written by Super User 24 Mar 2023
Ofsted and Ruth Perry: The dam has burst on strength of feeling

Headteacher Mrs Perry killed herself after an Ofsted inspection that downgraded her school's rating from Outstanding to Inadequate. Now a dam has burst. Her family blame her death on the Ofsted inspection pressure, and many headteachers and teachers are now speaking out about their own experiences of the Ofsted process. There are huge pressures on headteachers, bearing the responsibility of solving societal issues within schools and managing challenges like safeguarding, behaviour management, and academic performance. The stress can be overwhelming. The relationship between schools and Ofsted is particularly difficult due to numerous regulations that have evolved over the past 20 years. Policy changes regarding faith, identity, and sexuality have had a significant impact, particularly on faith schools keen to teach in line with traditional Christian beliefs. Many believe Ofsted inspectors approach these issues with their own ideological bias, adding to the challenge. See

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