Ruth Perry: Ofsted inspection 'contributed' to head teacher's death

Ruth Perry was the head at Caversham Primary School in Reading

An Ofsted inspection "contributed" to the death of head teacher Ruth Perry, an inquest has ruled.

The inspection "lacked fairness, respect and sensitivity" and was at times "rude and intimidating", senior coroner Heidi Connor said.

Mrs Perry, 53, took her own life in January while waiting for an Ofsted report to be published.

Her sister Julia Waters said "urgent lessons must be learnt from Ruth's death".

Ms Connor expressed concern about the system's impact on school leaders.

The coroner's verdict was recorded as "suicide: contributed to by an Ofsted inspection carried out in November 2022."

In her concluding remarks, Ms 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."

This is the first time Ofsted has been listed as a contributing factor in the death of a head teacher.

"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," Prof Waters said.

• I.N.A.D.E.Q.U.A.T.E. - Ruth Perry's despair in handwritten notes

• What is Ofsted and how do inspections work?

• Inspection changed head's life 'irrevocably'

• Ruth Perry felt humiliated by Ofsted inspection

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," she said, "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 changes do not go anywhere near far enough... What happened to Ruth must never be allowed to happen again."

Prof Waters added that Mrs Perry was much more than "the victim of an inhumane school inspection system" but a "sister, a wife and a mother".

Ofsted 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.

Ofsted was making several changes to help reduce the pressure felt by school leaders, she said. As a first step, inspections will be delayed by a day next week.

She added: "We have started to develop training for all inspectors on recognising and responding to visible signs of anxiety."

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders' union NAHT, said: "The verdict is a clear and damning indictment of an approach to inspection that has done massive harm to school professionals.

"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."

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said in a statement that "lessons need to be learned".

"We have worked closely with Ruth's family as well as with Ofsted to introduce key reforms and further support for our school leaders," 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."

The inquest looked at four questions - who was Ruth Perry, and when, where and how she died.

The coroner also issued a prevention of future death notice - a report that aims to stop similar situations arising again. It will be sent to people and groups in a position to reduce the risk of other deaths occurring in similar circumstances.

Anyone getting such a notice has 56 days to say what they plan to do to mitigate the chances of deaths happening.

Ms Connor said that 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 created and expanded upon at this inquest" and that there was no clear training in this respect.

Caversham Primary School, in Reading, was downgraded from outstanding to "inadequate" due to safeguarding concerns after the Ofsted visit in November 2022. The school has since been re-graded as "good".

The decision behind the grading the school received is not something that fell within the scope of the inquest but Ms Connor said it was important to have a "clear understanding of how it works and the effect of that system on Ruth".

The coroner said her main areas of concern were the conduct of the inspection, the confidentiality required before the Ofsted report is published and the length of time between the inspection and final report.

She also highlighted the current one-word Ofsted system, where the same judgement of inadequate can be given to a school which "is dreadful in all respects" and another which is good but with issues which could be remedied by the time the report was published.

At Reading town hall, Ruth Perry’s sister Julia Waters said their concern has never been with individuals, but with Ofsted’s "inhumane system".

Ms Connor said she "very much hopes" the results of the inquest will be used by the education select committee's inquiry into Ofsted and how it works.

Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman said last month Mrs Perry's death had been used to "discredit" the schools watchdog. Referring to these comments, Ms Connor said this suggests a lack of learning from this case.

Ms Connor noted that there was a marked difference in how the council gave testimony compared with Ofsted.

The local council was "open and accepting, with a clear wish to improve matters", she said but she remained concerned their new proactive approach to dealing with Ofsted needs to be in written guidance and there was "no internal review" following her death.

Robin Walker, chair of the education select committee, told the BBC: "We will take note of the coroner's findings before deciding on recommendations at the end of our ongoing Ofsted inquiry."

Brighter Futures for Children and Reading Council said they fully acknowledged and accepted the coroner's recommendations.

They added that they had taken a number of steps to better understand and respond to what affects the wellbeing of head teachers.

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