Schools advised to remove Ofsted from their websites in protest

Schools have started removing references to Ofsted from their websites in the latest attack on the inspectorate in the wake of the death of Ruth Perry.

A primary school headteachers’ association in Suffolk has told its members to consider removing Ofsted “logos, banners and quotations” from websites.

Teachers could also pray in the presence of inspectors for their school to be “protected” and treated with “compassion”, the association said.

It has recommended that headteachers wear black armbands during future inspections and display a photo of Ms Perry.

The headteacher took her own life in January after learning that her school, Caversham Primary, in Reading, would be downgraded from “Outstanding” to “Inadequate”.

In a statement, the Suffolk primary school association suggested that schools insist that no individual staff member is left alone with an Ofsted inspector.

It also said that headteachers should ensure that their concerns with the inspection process are documented during visits.

No references to Ofsted

Elsewhere, Katesgrove Primary School in Reading has told parents that it will “have no further references to Ofsted visible” on its website.

“We are doing this as a sign of solidarity to Ruth, her family, her friends and the community of Caversham Primary,” the school said.

Gary Spracklen, head of the Prince of Wales School, in Dorchester, Dorset, which was rated “good” when it was last inspected, told the BBC that he was “no longer willing to give Ofsted any more airtime.”

He said: "We don't have to make Ofsted something bigger than it is by talking about them all the time. My Ofsted rating does not define me or my school.”

Teaching unions have called for Ofsted inspections to be halted.

The National Education Union delivered a petition signed by more than 45,000 people  to the Department for Education on Thursday afternoon calling on the Government to replace Ofsted “with a school accountability system which is supportive, effective and fair”.

Meanwhile, a small vigil was held outside Ofsted’s headquarters, in central London, with photos of Ms Kelly and a sign saying “time’s up for Ofsted”.

Julia Waters, Ms Perry’s sister, has called on parents to “say no to the horrible, inaccurate and dangerous labelling of schools and heads”.

She wrote on social media: “Destroy Ofsted’s power by refusing its legitimacy.”

Scrap one-word judgments

Headteachers are urging the Government to scrap “one-word” judgments which they say “hang heavy on the necks of professionals for years on end”.

However, Sir Michael Wilshaw, former chief inspector of Ofsted, has argued that blunt judgments must be retained because they make teachers work harder.

He told The Telegraph: “If you know that, unless you’re good, you’re going to get a ‘requires improvement’, which means intervention, then you work that much harder don’t you?

“The bottom line is, kids have one chance to get a good education. They don’t get it again. “And Ofsted is there to support that… and to insist that intervention takes place when a school receives a less than ‘good’ judgment.”

The Department for Education said: “Inspections are hugely important as they hold schools to account for their educational standards and parents greatly rely on the ratings to give them confidence in choosing the right school for their child."