A 45,000-SIGNATURE petition demanding the replacement of Ofsted with a schools’ inspectorate that is “supportive, effective and fair” was handed in at the Department for Education today.

The initiative, launched by the National Education Union (NEU) at its 2022 annual conference, reached its climax just days after the family of a school leader revealed that she had killed herself while waiting for an inspection report.

Ruth Perry, who was head teacher at Caversham Primary School in Reading, died in January, with the public body later downgrading the institution to the lowest possible rating of “inadequate.”