Headteachers in Wales have described the “extreme stress” of school inspections following the death of a headteacher in England. They said they were shocked but not surprised to hear of the death of Ruth Perry after her school was downgraded by Ofsted - the body that inspects schools in England.
Ruth Perry, headteacher of Caversham Primary in Reading is thought to have taken her own life in January after an Ofsted inspection downgraded her school from outstanding to inadequate.
One headteacher in north Wales, who has worked in England too, said she was surprised such a tragedy had not happened before given the high personal stakes for heads when their schools were under scrutiny. Another head, whose secondary school was inspected recently, described the experience as “genuinely frightening” while one said it was “terrifying” to get the phone call saying Estyn inspectors would soon visit.
