Ruth Perry: Inquest hears head felt humiliated after Ofsted inspection

Ruth Perry was the head teacher at Caversham Primary School in Reading for 13 years

An inquest into the death of a head teacher has heard how she felt "powerless" after her school was inspected by Ofsted.

Ruth Perry told her husband Jonathan she believed her career could be over, on the first day of the inspection at Caversham Primary in November 2022.

Mrs Perry, who had been head teacher for 13 years, took her own life in January while awaiting Ofsted's report.

Ofsted downgraded the school to inadequate after the visit.

Mr Perry said his wife was "understandably anxious" when she got the call from Ofsted about the school inspection, but generally she seemed fine.

However, after the first day of the two-day inspection, Mr Perry said this changed.

"She was in a terrible state and couldn't be comforted," he said in a statement heard at the inquest into Mrs Perry's death.

"She was destroyed and humiliated."

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Mrs Perry told her husband that the first meeting with the inspector had been "horrendous".

Mr Perry said his wife thought the lead inspector was a bully and she was left feeling "powerless".

Earlier in the inquest, a witness statement said that Alan Derry had a "mocking and unpleasant tone" and "sniggered loudly" in a meeting.

Mr Derry told the inquest in response: "I don't believe that to be correct. The body language and the snigger, I don't recognise that".

He added that 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.

He said Mrs Perry wanted to move forward and resolve the issues that had been found.

Mr Derry added that he was very aware of mental health issues after facing his own difficulties while a head teacher.

He said part of the reason he wanted to become a school inspector was so the process could be done in a "kind" way.

Caversham Primary School has since been reassessed and judged to be "good"

Claire Wilkins and Lewis Evans, the two inspectors who accompanied Mr Derry, told the inquest they agreed the inspection was "fast-paced" as there was a lot to fit into two days.

When asked if it was normal for head teachers to cry, Mr Evans said he had only been an inspector for a short time, but in his experience "there are tears more times than there aren't due to frustration, [or] happiness sometimes".

Ms Wilkins told the inquest she noticed Mrs Perry was upset during the final feedback meeting, and asked if she had someone at home to talk to.

She said Mrs Perry did not answer, but a colleague nodded.

'A tough cookie'

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

Mrs Leroy advised her to contact her GP immediately, and with Mrs Perry's permission contacted the local authority and the chair of governors.

Asked by the coroner whether she thought there was a link between the inspection and how Mrs Perry died, Mrs Leroy said "I believe there is yes".

Mrs Leroy said Mrs Perry had been quite well-known as a "tough cookie" who "stood her ground".

She said she had worked with Mrs Perry for nine years and it was a complete change to "the Ruth I had seen before".

Asked why she did not ask for the inspection to be paused, Mrs Leroy said by asking for a pause, she felt she would have put the whole inspection at risk and possibly made Mrs Perry feel undermined.

Senior coroner Heidi Connor said she was keen to weave Mrs Perry's voice into the inquest where possible, before reading a statement from her widower.

Mr Perry said they had "made a good team" and had recently bought his childhood home, which Ruth was excited about redecorating to make it their "forever home".

She had also put herself on the "waiting list for a nearby allotment".

As a head teacher, Mr Perry said she was "close to burn-out at times" but generally she was "resilient and positive" for a job and school "which she loved".

The coroner is expected to deliver her conclusions on 7 December.

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