When inspectors from Ofsted, England’s education watchdog, descended on Flora Cooper’s Berkshire primary school this week, there was a small but poignant crowd of protesters waiting at the gates.
“I don’t know what I’m doing,” the headteacher had tweeted the night before, of her plans to refuse them entry. “But someone has to.” In the end she let the inspection proceed – obstructing it risks a £2,500 fine – but her stand felt like a Spartacus moment for teaching nonetheless.
