Headteacher said ‘it’s not looking good, is it’ during inspection

A HEADTEACHER who took her own life after her school was downgraded by Ofsted looked in “physical pain” during the inspection, an inquest heard.

Lead inspector Alan Derry said that Ruth Perry became “very upset, very tearful” during the two-day assessment of Caversham Primary School in November last year.

Mrs Perry, 53, said she “couldn’t show her face again” when it became clear that the school could lose its previous “outstanding” rating, Berkshire Coroner’s Court heard.

The school, which Mrs Perry ran for 13 years, was later judged to be “inadequate” due to concerns over safeguarding. It has since been reassessed and judged to be “good”.

Mrs Perry’s death on January 8 led to a nationwide debate about how Ofsted inspections in England work.

Mr Derry told the hearing at Reading town hall that the day before the inspection Mrs Perry had been “very professional, very clear and very confident” on the phone, telling him: “We are ready and have been for a really long time.”

But she seemed less confident in person the next day, when she appeared “much quieter” and gave shorter responses. It was a marked difference, he said. At a meeting to discuss record-keeping and safeguarding issues, Mrs Perry said to him: “It’s not looking good, is it?” and she used the phrase repeatedly.

Mr Derry said she was tearful so he made sure she had a tissue and paused the meeting.  

He said he was worried that Mrs Perry found the inspection “really challenging” and that she needed support.

It was important to reassure her that all evidence would be considered before inspectors made a collective decision.  

In a written statement, Nicola Leroy, the school’s business manager, said Mrs Perry had looked “flushed” after the meeting and had said she “needed to leave right now”.

Mr Derry said that the next day, when it became clearer that an “inadequate” rating was likely, Mrs Perry had been quiet and looked sad. In the final feedback meeting, she was “very upset and very tearful”.

Asked if he now conducted inspections differently, Mr Derry said the events had “changed” him and it would make sense to change his approach.

In her opening remarks, coroner Heidi Connor said she was aware of “the strength of feeling” around the inquest.

Addressing Mrs Perry’s family, she said “your Ruth’s story lies at the heart” of the hearing and “I will not forget this”.

She said she would look for answers to four questions, who was Ruth Perry and when, where and how she died.

She said the decision to downgrade the school’s Ofsted rating received was not something that fell within the scope of an inquest but added: “It is important to have a clear understanding of how it works and the effect of that system on Ruth.”

Chris Russell, Ofsted’s director of education, explained how inspections worked but said the consequences of an inadequate judgement lay with the Department for Education and the likely outcome was “academisation”. He said a judgement of ineffective safeguarding would be made only after careful consideration and was “very rare”.

Asked by the coroner how inspectors took reasonable steps to minimise stress, Mr Russell said it was a “core value” of how Ofsted worked.

However, the responsibility for the welfare of headteachers lay with others, including the governing body and the local authority as they had an ongoing relationship.

He said Ofsted did not have written guidance on how to manage the stress of inspections on headteachers at the time but that inspectors were trained to manage inspections in a way that reduced stress on schools.

A pre-inquest review previously heard Mrs Perry had been in touch with a mental health crisis team on November 21, just days after the inspection.

The inquest continues.

• The family of Ruth Perry received a huge response to their appeal for help with their legal costs. More than £70,000 has been raised since the GoFundMe page was opened on Saturday, £20,000 more than their goal. Any money that is left over will be donated to Inquest, a charity which supports people bereaved by state-related deaths “to access truth, justice and accountability and to contribute a systematic change”.