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Headteacher Flora Cooper, wearing a black armband, stands next to a photograph of Ruth Perry as she closes the school gate at John Rankin Schools in Newbury, Berkshire, following the death of Ruth Perry, who was head at nearby Caversham Primary School in Reading
AN OFSTED visit of a school whose headteacher had planned to refuse entry to inspectors following the suicide of another school leader went ahead today.
Flora Cooper, executive headteacher at John Rankin Schools in Newbury, Berkshire, announced on Monday that she would boycott the widely criticised schools inspectorate, posting on Twitter: “We have to do this! I’m taking the stand!”
The social media post coincided with the family of Ruth Perry, who was head teacher at Caversham Primary School in nearby Reading, saying that she had killed herself in January while waiting for an Ofsted report which found the institution to be “inadequate” — the lowest possible rating.
With 170,000 children living in poverty in north-east England and teachers leaving in droves over 20 per cent real-terms pay cuts since 2010, all while private companies siphon off billions, it is time to unite and fight for education, writes MATT WRACK