Teacher's suicide sparks union anger

Teachers' unions in Britain have reacted angrily to the recent stress-related suicide of a primary-school teacher. THE Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) and the National Association of Schoolmasters, Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) sharply criticised Britain's chief inspector of schools, Chris Woodhead, at their recent conferences, over the stress faced by teachers in school Ofsted inspections.

This follows the suicide verdict by an inquest earlier this month: Pamela Relf froze to death in the waters of the River Ouse in Cambridgeshire, England in January. She, along with the other teachers in her school, had undergone an inspection in November. Relf, a teacher for 36 years, left a note saying: "I am finding the stress of my job too much. The pace of work and the long days are more than I can do." Ofsted guidelines have been changed in recent years to reduce the stress of inspections.

In a statement, Ofsted said it had consistently expressed sadness and sympathy about Relf's death. Whatever role the inspection had played in adding to her depression, it "always recognised that inspection can be a stressful event".