New policy for headteachers to pause Ofsted inspections after Ruth Perry’s death
School leaders will have new guidelines showing them how to stop an Ofsted inspection if staff show signs of distress after a coroner called for change following the suicide of headteacher Ruth Perry.
Ofsted is set to publish a new policy on pausing an inspection of a maintained school or academy “where a serious issue has been identified” as part of its 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.
As a fellow headteacher, I was shocked and saddened by the death of Ruth Perry. As the new chief inspector, I
