What happened to Ruth must never be allowed to happen again, says sister

THE family of a headteacher said they felt vindicated after a coroner ruled that an Ofsted inspection contributed to her death.

Ruth Perry took her own life in January while waiting for publication of the report which downgraded Caversham Primary School from “outstanding” to “inadequate”.

Senior coroner Heidi Connor recorded that the 53-year-old’s death was caused by “suicide: contributed to by an Ofsted inspection carried out in November 2022”.

At the end of an eight-day inquest at Reading Coroner’s Court in Reading town hall, she said the two-day inspection in November last yeanr had “lacked fairness, respect and sensitivity” and the lead inspector was at times “rude and intimidating”.

Speaking after the hearing, Mrs Perry’s sister Professor Julia Waters said: “The coroner’s conclusions vindicate what our family has known all along, that Ruth took her own life as the direct result of the process, outcome and consequences of an Ofsted inspection of the school she led and loved.”

She said her sister’s death “laid bare the imbalance of power that exists” within the education system.

“The inquest... has shown the brutal inhumanity of the system of Ofsted inspections,” said Prof Waters.

“Ofsted likes to judge people with single-word labels. We could judge the current Ofsted system with our own labels: callous, perverse and inhumane.

“Ofsted has made some changes but these do not go anywhere near far enough. What happened to Ruth must never be allowed to happen again.”

Mrs Perry, whose sister and husband Jonathan had given evidence at the inquest, had been headteacher of the school in Hemdean Road for 13 years and had been a pupil there herself.

Prof Waters, who works in the department of languages and cultures at Reading University, said she had been a “sister, a wife and a mother” and that her death had left the family with an “unfillable hole” in their lives.

Ofsted’s chief inspector Amanda Spielman apologised for “the distress that Mrs Perry undoubtedly experienced as a result of our inspection”.

She said: “Ruth Perry’s death was a tragedy that deeply affected many people. My thoughts remain with her family, the wider Caversham school community and everyone else who knew and loved her.”

She said Ofsted was making several changes to help reduce the pressure felt by school leaders. As a first step, inspections were being delayed by a day this week.

Ms Spielman added: “We have started to develop training for all inspectors on recognising
and responding to visible signs of anxiety.”

The inquest heard how Mrs Perry told an NHS clinician that she was “amazed” that more headteachers did not take their own lives due to Ofsted inspections.

She described the process as the “most inhumane system” during treatment she received for mental health struggles a few weeks before her death.

Mrs Perry said: “It’s totally wrong that one person is made to think like this. I’m amazed that there are not more heads killing themselves. Ofsted needs to change.”

Dr Thomas Back, Mrs Perry’s GP, said that the inspection had played a role in her death.

He said she had no history of mental health problems but he had repeated consultations with her after she was diagnosed with an “acute stress reaction” following the inspection.

By the end of the year, her condition had “definitely taken a downward turn” but she had insisted on returning to work. Asked by the coroner if the delay in publication of the inspection report was linked to her death, Dr Back said: “I think so because it meant that she didn’t have that release from what she was experiencing, all the fears she had built up, and what effect the release of the inspection details would have on her.”

In a statement, Mr Perry told of his wife’s mental deterioration while she was waiting for the report to be made public. He said she was “terrified” that she would lose her job.

Mr Perry added: “She knew that an ‘inadequate’ judgment meant the end of most headteachers’ careers. She kept repeating that she’d let everyone down, her staff, the school’s children and parents and her family.”

One witness said that lead inspector Alan Derry had a “mocking and unpleasant tone” and “sniggered loudly” in a meeting.

But Mr Derry told the coroner: “I don’t believe that to be correct. The body language and the snigger, I don’t recognise that.”

He said he was “very mindful” of Mrs Perry’s heightened state of anxiety and called the duty desk.

When asked whether he believed the inspection should have been stopped so Mrs Perry could seek professional help, Mr Derry said there were major safeguarding concerns around the safety of children and he wanted to move forward and resolve the issues.

The inquest also heard that a few days after the inspection, Mrs Perry had told the school business manager Nicola Leroy that she had thought about taking her own life.

Mrs Leroy advised her to contact her GP immediately and contacted the local authority and the chair of governors.

Asked by the coroner whether she thought there was a link between the inspection and Mrs Perry’s death, Mrs Leroy said: “I believe there is, yes.”

She said Mrs Perry had been known as a “tough cookie” who “stood her ground”. She said she had worked with her for nine years and she had changed from “the Ruth I had seen before”.

Ms Connor said her main areas of concern were the conduct of the inspection, the confidentiality required before an Ofsted report is published and the length of time between the inspection and the final report. She said that a claim made by Ofsted during the hearing that school inspections could be paused if the distress of a headteacher is a concern was a “mythical creature created and expanded upon at this inquest” and that there was no clear training in this respect.

She criticised the single-word grading and said she hoped the evidence heard at the inquest would be used by the education select committee’s inquiry into Ofsted and how it works.

Ms Connor said it was important to have a “clear understanding of how it works and the effect of that system on Ruth”.

She referred to comments made by Ms Spielman that Mrs Perry’s death had been used to “discredit” Ofsted, saying these suggested a lack of learning.

There was a marked difference in how Reading Borough Council, the education authority, had given testimony. The council had been “open and accepting, with a clear wish to improve matters”.

The coroner also issued a prevention of future death notice, a report that aims to prevent a similar tragedy. This will be sent to people and groups in a position to reduce the risk of other deaths occurring in similar circumstances.

Anyone receiving a notice will have 56 days to say what they plan to do to mitigate the chances of a death happening.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said that lessons needed to be learned.

She said: “Ofsted is fundamental to making sure children are safe and receive the education they deserve.

“Together, we will look closely at the coroner’s recommendations to consider further changes to make sure we have an inspection system that supports schools and teachers and, ultimately, secure Ruth’s
legacy.”

She added: “My heart goes out to Ruth’s family, friends and the school community. Her death was a tragedy that not only shocked the local community but also the wider sector and beyond.”

Reading Borough Council said it fully accepted the coroner’s
recommendations.

Caversham Primary School has since been reinspected and rated “good”.