Connect with us

Published

on

A friend and colleague of Ruth Perry has told Sky News her death must lead to change in the way schools are inspected.

Ruth Perry, head teacher at Caversham Primary School in Reading, Berkshire, killed herself after finding out that Ofsted inspectors had downgraded her school.

Sophie Greenaway, headteacher at nearby Thameside Primary, worked with Mrs Perry for many years.

Speaking of the impact on Mrs Perry’s family, she said: “They’ve lost their mum, they’ve lost their wife, and us speaking out now can’t bring her back but she has to not have died for no reason.

“Some change needs to come of this because this can’t happen to anyone else.”

Mrs Greenaway described Ofsted inspections as being like “the biggest interrogation of your life”.

She said that, from the moment of being informed her school would be inspected, “immediately it’s anxiety, worry and it’s so intense”.

More on Berkshire

Schools are contacted the day before a two-day inspection.

‘I’m so scared of letting people down’

“I’m so scared of letting people down, of letting my school down by saying the wrong thing,” Mrs Greenaway said.

“And that’s what’s so terrifying – that you can say something and it can be taken the wrong way and then your entire school judgement for the next five years on a piece of paper can be reliant on that one thing.”

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

‘They had a dedicated, caring and expert headteacher’

She said that once an inspection is complete, a small number of school leaders are called together by the inspectors.

“You get the word told to you that you are going to be judged on and defined by for four years, five years… and then you’re told in no uncertain terms that you cannot share that outside that room.

“Otherwise you do risk a reassessment of that judgement being taken away from you.”

That grading can only be shared with staff and parents once Ofsted’s assessment is published.

Mrs Perry had killed herself in the period when only she knew that her school had been downgraded.

“That pressure to keep it within you from your family and from members of staff is intense,” Mrs Greenaway said.

A ‘high-stakes single judgement’

Under the current assessment system schools are awarded a rating of outstanding, good, requires improvement, or inadequate.

Ofsted data show on their last inspection in England 72% of schools were judged as “good”, with 17% given the top rating and just 12% rated in the bottom two categories.

The National Association of Headteachers is calling for the system to be reformed, arguing inspections currently give a “high-stakes single judgement” of a school.

Teaching unions have been calling for Ofsted inspections to be paused following Mrs Perry’s death.

Read more:
Devastated family blame headteacher’s death on ‘deeply harmful’ pressure of Ofsted inspection
School which ‘refused entry’ to Ofsted over headteacher’s death is facing inspection

‘Our aim is to raise standards,’ Ofsted says

But Ofsted’s chief inspector Amanda Spielman has resisted those calls, saying: “I don’t believe that stopping or preventing inspections would be in children’s best interests.

“Our aim is to raise standards, so that all children get a great education.

“It is an aim we share with every teacher in every school.”

She said: “Ruth Perry’s death was a tragedy.

“Our thoughts remain with Ruth’s family, friends and the school community at Caversham Primary.

“I am deeply sorry for their loss.

“The broader debate about reforming inspections is a legitimate one, but it shouldn’t lose sight of how grades are currently used.

“They give parents a simple and accessible summary of a school’s strengths and weaknesses.

“They are also now used to guide government decisions about when to intervene in struggling schools.”

A school in Reading
Image:
Ofsted inspections are like ‘the biggest interrogation of your life’, says Sophie Greenaway

‘It’s absolutely agonising waiting for the call’

Lisa Telling, the executive head at Katesgrove Primary, another school close to Caversham Primary, knows her school will be one of the next to be visited by Ofsted, as its inspection is overdue.

“It’s absolutely agonising waiting for the call. It’s stomach churning,” she said.

“Sunday night I don’t sleep.

“I start to get that anxious feeling in my tummy.

“Monday I come to work and every time I jump… I instantly think Ofsted.

“We’re just on tenterhooks all the time and it’s genuinely wretched.

“We need to have a consistent system that when the inspectors come through the door they’re going to work with you.

“We’re asking for a pause after Ruth’s death to re-look at this.

“As leaders, as Ofsted inspectors, we all want the same thing.

“We all want the best education for our children, the same as our parents.

“We can do this together.

“Let’s just stop. Let’s not be adversarial, let it be together, because actually together we can achieve more.

“Let’s work together.”

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK

Continue Reading

UK

Russell Brand charged with rape and sexual assault

Published

on

By

Russell Brand charged with rape and sexual assault

Russell Brand has been charged with rape and two counts of sexual assault between 1999 and 2005.

The Metropolitan Police say the 50-year-old comedian, actor and author has also been charged with one count of oral rape and one count of indecent assault.

The charges relate to four women.

He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday 2 May.

Police have said Brand is accused of raping a woman in the Bournemouth area in 1999 and indecently assaulting a woman in the Westminster area of London in 2001.

He is also accused of orally raping and sexually assaulting a woman in Westminster in 2004.

The fourth charge alleges that a woman was sexually assaulted in Westminster between 2004 and 2005.

Police began investigating Brand, from Oxfordshire, in September 2023 after receiving a number of allegations.

Read more from Sky News:
Mum spared prison after son’s death
Last UK blast furnaces days from closure
Ship owner files legal claim after North Sea crash

The comedian has previously denied the accusations, and said all his sexual relationships were “absolutely always consensual”.

Met Police Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy, who is leading the investigation, said: “The women who have made reports continue to receive support from specially trained officers.

“The Met’s investigation remains open and detectives ask anyone who has been affected by this case, or anyone who has any information, to come forward and speak with police.”

Continue Reading

UK

Last UK blast furnaces days from closure as Chinese owners cut off crucial supplies

Published

on

By

Last UK blast furnaces days from closure as Chinese owners cut off crucial supplies

​​​​​​​The last blast furnaces left operating in Britain could see their fate sealed within days, after their Chinese owners took the decision to cut off the crucial supply of ingredients keeping them running. 

Jingye, the owner of British Steel in Scunthorpe, has, according to union representatives, cancelled future orders for the iron ore, coal and other raw materials needed to keep the furnaces running.

The upshot is that they may have to close next month – even sooner than the earliest date suggested for its closure.

Read more: Thousands of jobs at risk as British Steel consults unions over closure

The fate of the blast furnaces – the last two domestic sources of virgin steel, made from iron ore rather than recycled – is likely to be determined in a matter of days, with the Department for Business and Trade now actively pondering nationalisation.

The upshot is that even as Britain contends with a trade war across the Atlantic, it is now working against the clock to secure the future of steelmaking at Scunthorpe.

British Steel proceesing

The talks between the government and Jingye broke down last week after the Chinese company, which bought British Steel out of receivership in 2020, rejected a £500m offer of public money to replace the existing furnaces with electric arc furnaces.

More on China

The sum is the same one it offered to Tata Steel, which has shut down the other remaining UK blast furnaces in Port Talbot and is planning to build electric furnaces – which have far lower carbon emissions.

These steel workers could soon be out of work
Image:
These steel workers could soon be out of work

However, the owners argue that the amount is too little to justify extra investment at Scunthorpe, and said last week they were now consulting on the date of shutting both the blast furnaces and the attached steelworks.

Since British Steel is the main provider of steel rails to Network Rail – as well as other construction steels available from only a few sites in the world – the closure would leave the UK more reliant on imports for critical infrastructure sites.

British Steel in action

However, since the site belongs to its Chinese owners, a decision to nationalise the site would involve radical steps government officials are wary of taking.

They also fear leaving taxpayers exposed to a potentially loss-making business for the long run.

British Steel

The dilemma has been heightened by the sharp turn in geopolitical sentiment following Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

The incipient trade war and threatened cut in American support to Europe have sparked fresh calls for countries to act urgently to secure their own supplies of critical materials, especially those used for defence and infrastructure.

Read more:
Car manufacturers fined £461m for collusion
There were no winners from Trump’s tariff gameshow

Gareth Stace, head of UK Steel, the industry lobby group, said: “Talks seem to have broken down between government and British Steel.

“My advice to government is: please, Jonathan Reynolds, Business Secretary, get back round that negotiating table, thrash out a deal, and if a deal can’t be found in the next few days, then I fear for the very future of the sector, but also here for Scunthorpe steelworks.”

British Steel declined to comment.

Continue Reading

UK

Prince Andrew’s Pitch@Palace branded ‘crude attempt to enrich himself’ as Chinese spy documents set to be released

Published

on

By

Prince Andrew's Pitch@Palace branded 'crude attempt to enrich himself' as Chinese spy documents set to be released

Prince Andrew’s efforts to make money from his Pitch@Palace project have been branded as a “crude attempt to enrich himself” at the expense of “unsuspecting tech founders”, as new documents may shed more light on what he and his team have been attempting to sell.

Today is the deadline for documents to be released relating to Prince Andrew‘s former senior adviser Dominic Hampshire and his interactions with the alleged Chinese spy Yang Tengbo.

In February, an immigration tribunal heard how the intelligence services had contacted Mr Hampshire about Mr Yang back in 2022. Mr Yang helped set up Pitch@Palace China, a branch of the duke’s scheme to help young entrepreneurs.

The alleged Chinese spy, Yang Tengbo, has links with Prince Andrew
Image:
The alleged Chinese spy, Yang Tengbo, has links with Prince Andrew

Pic: Pitch@Palace
Image:
Yang Tengbo. Pic: Pitch@Palace

Judges banned Mr Yang from the UK, saying his association with a senior royal had made Prince Andrew “vulnerable” and posed a threat to national security. Mr Yang challenged that decision at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC).

Since that hearing, media organisations have applied for certain documents relating to the case and Mr Hampshire’s support for Mr Yang to be made public. SIAC agreed to release some information of public interest. It is hoped they may include more details on deals that he was trying to do on behalf of Prince Andrew.

So what do we know about potential deals for Pitch@Palace so far?

In February, Sky News confirmed that palace officials had a meeting last summer with tech funding company StartupBootcamp to discuss a potential tie-up between them and Prince Andrew relating to his Pitch@Palace project.

More on Prince Andrew

The palace wasn’t involved in the fine details of a deal but wanted guarantees to make sure it wouldn’t impact the Royal Family in the future. Sky News understands from one source that the price being discussed for Pitch was around £750,000 – there are, however, reports that a deal may have stalled.

Photos we found on the Chinese Chamber of Commerce website show an event held in Asia between StartupBootcamp and Innovate Global, believed to be an offshoot of Pitch.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Who is alleged Chinese spy, Yang Tengbo?

Documents, released in relation to the investigations into Mr Tengbo, have also shown how much the duke has always seen Pitch as a way of potentially making money. One document from 21 August 2021 clearly states “the duke needed money at the time, and saw the relationships with China through Pitch as one possible source of funding”.

But Prince Andrew’s apparent intention to use Pitch to make money has led to concerns about whether he is unfairly using the contacts and information he gained when he was a working royal.

Norman Baker, former MP and author of books on royal finances, believes it is “a crude attempt to enrich himself” and goes against what the tech entrepreneurs thought they were signing up for.

Read more:
Who is Yang Tenbo?
Virginia Giuffre says she has days to live
Emails between Andrew and Epstein revealed

He told Sky News: “The data given by these business people was given on the basis it was an official operation and not something for Prince Andrew, and so in my view, Prince Andrew had no right legally or morally to take the data which has been collected, a huge amount of data, and sell it…

“And quite clearly if you’re going to sell it off to StartupBootcamp, that is not what people had in mind. The entrepreneurs who joined Pitch@Palace did not do so to enrich Prince Andrew,” he said.

Rich Wilson was one tech entrepreneur who was approached at the start of Pitch@Palace to sign up, but he stepped away when he spotted a clause in the contract saying they’d be entitled to 2% equity in any funding he secured.

He feels Prince Andrew is continuing to use those he made a show of supporting.

He said: “It makes me feel sick. I think it’s terrible – that he is continuing to exploit unsuspecting tech founders in this way. A lot of them, I’m quite grey and old in the tooth now, I saw it coming, but clearly most didn’t. And a lot of them were quite young.

“It’ll be their first venture and you’re learning on the trot, so to speak. So to take advantage of people in such a major way – that’s an awful, sickening thing to do.”

We approached StartupBootcamp who said they had no comment to make, and the Duke of York’s office did not respond.

With reports that a deal may have stalled, it could be a big setback for the duke – especially with questions still about how he’ll continue to pay for his home on the Windsor estate now that the King no longer gives him financial support.

Continue Reading

Trending