School inspections in England will resume this week after a fortnight's pause 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.

Head teachers, academy trusts and local authorities can also now ask for an inspection to be paused.

It follows an inquest into the suicide of Ruth Perry which found an inspection "contributed" to her death.

Sir Martyn said "such tragedies should never happen again".

Mrs Perry took her own life after an Ofsted report downgraded Caversham Primary School in Reading, where she was head teacher, from its highest rating to its lowest over safeguarding concerns. The inquest into her death heard no child had come to harm.

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.

It highlighted areas of concern including "the almost complete absence of Ofsted training" for inspectors looking for signs of distress in school leaders, or for pausing an inspection.

Ofsted has since made some changes, and has introduced a policy where an inspection can be paused usually until the next day, but it could be for up to five working days. This would be in exceptional circumstances - for example, where the head teacher requires support - and it would not affect the inspection grade.

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