Ofsted: Southampton school leaders sign covenant in Ruth Perry's memory

Head teachers, unions and education leaders in Southampton signed a so-called Caversham Covenant

A city's education leaders have signed a covenant in memory of head teacher Ruth Perry to support staff undergoing Ofsted inspections.

The move from unions and head teachers in Southampton comes after an inquest found an Ofsted inspection contributed to Mrs Perry's suicide.

Southampton City Council said the Caversham Covenant - named after Mrs Perry's school - would allow heads to address issues during an inspection.

Mrs Perry died in January last year.

She took her own life after an Ofsted report downgraded Caversham Primary School in Reading from its highest rating to its lowest over safeguarding concerns.

It has since been regraded "good".

The inquest into Ruth Perry's death found an inspection "likely contributed" to her suicide

The senior coroner at Mrs Perry's inquest, Heidi Connor, warned of a risk of further deaths "unless action is taken", and wrote a Prevention of Future Deaths (PFD) notice.

Under the covenant, named after Mrs Perry's school, head teachers could be provided with a buddy to talk to during their inspection process, as well as a directory of staff with Ofsted experience who heads could turn to with concerns.

Southampton City Council said the covenant acknowledged that Ofsted inspections were still "an important source of information for parents".

"The Caversham Covenant is a pledge that commits to provide an enhanced supportive network to school leaders in improving their schools, supporting each other through the Ofsted process and addressing any issues that may arise as a result of an inspection," it said.

John Draper, a head teacher and chair of the Aspire Community Trust, said: "Everyone's whose been in the job can remember colleagues who have not come back after adverse inspections, so it felt a real blow that it had actually cost someone their life.

"So we just want to make this public statement that we're going to support each other."

The Caversham Covenant was signed at a ceremony at Southampton Guildhall

School inspections in England have resumed after being paused for a fortnight to give lead inspectors mental health awareness training.

The training was ordered by Ofsted's new chief inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver, who took up the role in January.

Ofsted has since made some changes and introduced a policy where an inspection can be paused at the request of head teachers, academy trusts and local authorities, usually until the next day - but it could be for up to five working days.

This would be in exceptional circumstances, for example if the head teacher requires support - and it would not affect the inspection grade.

The Department for Education has said it was working with Ofsted to make changes, and that a call for evidence on how to better support school leaders on safeguarding will be launched in the spring.

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