An inquest into the death of headteacher Ruth Perry found an Ofsted inspection ‘likely contributed’ to her death.
A report from the watchdog downgraded Caversham Primary School in Reading where she was headteacher from its highest rating to its lowest over safeguarding concerns.
Mrs Perry’s sister Professor Julia Waters previously said the headteacher had experienced ‘the worst day of her life’ following the inspection on November 15 and 16 last year.
Senior coroner Heidi Connor said: ‘The evidence is clear in this respect, and I find that Ruth’s mental health deterioration and death was likely contributed to by the Ofsted inspection.’
Ms Connor added: ‘I find that parts of the Ofsted inspection were conducted in a way which lacked fairness, respect, and sensitivity.’
She said this ‘likely’ impacted Mrs Perry’s ability to deal with the inspection process.
‘Parts of this inspection were, in my view, very much done “to” rather than “with” this school,’ she said.
‘I recall asking questions of Ofsted about this. I put it to them that some people instinctively know how to deal with another person who is upset.
‘Others may not have this instinct, and some perhaps may themselves be unaware of the impact of their own personal style. I do wonder if that is the case here.’
She said a claim made by Ofsted during the inquest, that school inspections can be paused if the distress of a headteacher is a concern, was ‘a mythical creature’.
‘Ofsted gave evidence under oath that they have paused inspections before for reasons of headteacher distress,’ Ms Connor said.
‘I heard no direct evidence of this, and I am afraid I have to wonder what the level of distress must have been in those cases for such an action to be taken. It is clear that there is no guidance or training in this respect.’
Ms Connor outlined what needed to be done to prevent deaths like Mrs Perry’s in the future.
Ofsted’s aspiration to ‘assist’ parents with their school inspections and grading system, should be ‘balanced against the safeguarding of the teachers involved in inspections’, she said.
She was ‘concerned to note the almost complete absence of Ofsted training’ in situations where school leaders showed distress during an inspection, and around whether inspections could be paused in such cases.
Ms Connor intends to issue a Regulation 28 report to prevent future deaths, and hopes this will assist the parliamentary inquiry into Ofsted inspections.
Ms Connor turned to Mrs Perry’s family and said: ‘The composure and dignity you have displayed throughout is remarkable.
‘She is your Ruth, not our Ruth.’
Mrs Perry’s husband, Jonathan Perry, said she felt like the Ofsted inspector was a ‘bully’ and had an ‘agenda’.
He said she felt like failing on child safeguarding would be the end of her career.
Mr Perry said in a statement to the court: ‘I thought to myself, one day I am going to marry that girl.
‘Many years later I did.’
He said his wife was ‘the best thing in my life’.
‘I was proud to be Ruth’s husband,’ he said.
‘Marrying Ruth was the best thing I have ever done.’
Speaking after the decision Ruth’s sister Julia said the headteacher was ‘let down by an Ofsted system that was beset with glaring gaps, inconsistencies, and blind spots’.
She said: ‘Ruth was a head teacher, and also a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister and a dear friend to so many people.
‘She died 11 months ago tomorrow. Her death has left an unfillable hole in all our lives.
‘Today, the Coroner’s conclusions validate what our family has known for a long time – 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, Caversham Primary School.
‘The inquest into Ruth’s death has shown the brutal inhumanity of the system of Ofsted inspections.
‘Ofsted likes to judge people with single-word labels. We could judge the current Ofsted system with our own labels: callous, perverse and inhumane.
‘Ruth’s death, and this inquest, have laid bare the imbalance of power that exists in our education system.
‘Schools and teachers should be accountable to the families and communities they serve. Ruth of all people understood this.
‘She was let down by an Ofsted system that was beset with glaring gaps, inconsistencies, and blind spots, yet held the power to destroy her career, and put an end to her school as she knew it.’
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said today’s findings must be a catalyst for change.
He added: ‘Ofsted must immediately improve its policies and training for inspectors to ensure that inspections are handled sensitively and compassionately, particularly when a headteacher or other staff are traumatised.
‘It is also imperative that the inspection system is reformed to reduce stakes which are currently far too high because of the application of one-word or phrase judgments which reduce everything a school or college does to a label.
Ruth Perry's family statement in full
‘Ruth was a head teacher, and also a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister and a dear friend to so many people. She died 11 months ago tomorrow. Her death has left an unfillable hole in all our lives.
‘Today, the coroner’s conclusions validate what our family has known for a long time – 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, Caversham Primary School.
‘The inquest into Ruth’s death has shown the brutal inhumanity of the system of Ofsted inspections. Ofsted likes to judge people with single word labels. We could judge the current Ofsted system with our own labels. Callous, perverse and inhumane.
‘Ruth’s death, and this inquest, have laid bare the imbalance of power that exists in our education system.
‘Schools and teachers should be accountable to the families and communities they serve.
‘Ruth of all people understood this. She was let down by an Ofsted system that was beset with glaring gaps, inconsistencies, and blind spots, yet held the power to destroy her career, and put an end to her school as she knew it.
‘There are now urgent lessons that must be learnt from Ruth’s death. Ofsted has made some changes. But these changes do not go anywhere near far enough.
‘We have no confidence that Ofsted, under its current leadership and management, is either willing or able to make the widespread, root-and-branch reforms to its system and culture that are so urgently needed.
‘The new Chief Inspector of Schools faces a massive challenge to put these failings right.
‘We would like to thank the coroner, Mrs Heidi Connor, for her integrity, rigour and humanity throughout the inquest.
‘We hope that the coroner’s recommendations will be followed in full and will help to prevent future deaths. What happened to Ruth must never be allowed to happen again. We remain determined that there should be radical change, and quickly.
‘We would like to thank Ruth’s friends, fellow Reading headteachers, the families of Caversham Primary, and the wider community who have shown incredible love and kindness to us and to each other. I should like to thank in particular Lisa Telling, Edmund Barnett-Ward for their unstinting support, and Pete Castle from the Reading University Press Office for his expert guidance.
‘This inquest has also exposed another systemic imbalance of power – that is, the injustice of a legal aid system which refuses to support a bereaved family, even when facing three public bodies whose substantial legal costs are paid for by the taxpayer.
‘I should like to thank the thousands of kind and generous members of the public who responded to our crowdfunding campaign, after we learnt, just days before the start of the inquest, that our application for legal aid had been refused.
‘We could not have done this without legal representation, and I hope lessons can be learnt about the way the legal aid system should change to support bereaved families facing public bodies.
‘Finally – one of the terrible features of the school inspection system is the public focus on a named individual, the headteacher, and the potentially harmful consequences of being publicly named and shamed.
‘We are very grateful for the responsible way the media have reported Ruth’s death and the inquest. My family are concerned however about the sometimes very pointed, personalised focus on other individuals – including the inspectors who carried out the Ofsted inspection at Caversham Primary.
‘Our concern has never been with individuals, but with Ofsted’s inhumane system.
‘Please be conscious of this in your reporting, and in discussions on social media.
‘As fellow human beings, we all owe each other a duty of care. As Ruth used to say, ‘There is nothing more important in life than kindness. Be kind always.’’
‘The evidence in this inquest has been heartbreaking. The impact of an Ofsted inspection on a woman who dedicated her life to education and who was the much-respected head of a much-valued school is harrowingly clear.
‘This must never happen again.’
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT reflected these views and added: ‘Firstly, our thoughts remain with Ruth’s family. This will have been a gruelling week and no verdict can heal the harm that has been caused by Ruth’s death.
‘The verdict is a clear and damning indictment of an approach to inspection that has done massive harm to school professionals. We have heard in detail just how bad the impact of Ofsted inspection can be on school leaders’ mental health – something NAHT has been warning about for many for years. This tragedy never should have happened.
‘We now need urgent change. Ofsted has no choice but to seriously reflect and make changes to ensure a tragedy like this never happens again.
‘Ofsted and government have so far refused to take seriously the lessons that need to be learned from this case, or to listen properly to our warnings or the experiences of the school profession. They must now start working with us on the changes that need to be made.’
Neil Walne, chairman of Caversham Primary School board of governors, read out a statement on behalf of the school.
‘We continue to grieve her loss and to struggle to come to terms with her untimely death, and the circumstances surrounding it,’ he said.
‘For the sake of our school community, and in tribute to Ruth and her legacy, we must ensure that Caversham Primary School continues to be a place where our vision of educating children to be successful, confident, responsible, and caring citizens is realised.
‘The clock in our school playground is our memorial to Ruth. It reminds us every day of her presence and the impact she had on all our lives. She will ever be in our hearts.’
Ofsted inspector Alan Derry led the inspection and previously said Mrs Perry was ‘tearful’ and kept saying ‘it is not looking good is it?’
The inspection found Caversham Primary School was judged ‘good’ in every category apart from leadership and management, where it was judged to be ‘inadequate’.
It found school leaders did not have the ‘required knowledge to keep pupils safe from harm’, did not take ‘prompt and proper actions” and had not ensured safeguarding was ‘effective’.
Mrs Perry’s GP Dr Tom Back said the inspection of the school contributed to her death.
Police also found a diary belonging to Mrs Perry, with entries ranging from November 14 2022 to January 6.
Need support?
For emotional support you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email [email protected], visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.
If you’re a young person, or concerned about a young person, you can also contact PAPYRUS Prevention of Young Suicide UK. Their HOPELINK digital support platform is open 24/7, or you can call 0800 068 4141, text 07860039967 or email: [email protected] between the hours of 9am and midnight.
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