Ruth Perry: Family crowdfunding after legal aid refused

Head teacher Ruth Perry took her own life in January

The family of a head teacher who took her own life after Ofsted rated her school inadequate have launched an appeal for help with their legal costs.

An inquest into the death of Ruth Perry is due to open on Tuesday, but her family was told last week that their request for legal aid had been refused.

A crowdfunding page has hit its £50,000 target after its launch on Saturday.

Ms Perry died in January, less than two months after the Ofsted inspection of Caversham Primary in Reading.

She had told friends and family that the inspection had left her "broken".

The report downgraded the school from outstanding to inadequate, after inspectors said they had discovered problems with safeguarding.

A later inspection by Ofsted judged the school to have earned a grade of good.

Prof Julia Waters said she believes her sister Ruth Perry suffered a "terrible injustice"

The family have argued that help funding legal representation would be in the public interest.

They said, in contrast, the costs of a seven strong team representing Ofsted and counsel for Brighter Futures for Children, the council-owned company that runs Reading's schools, will both be funded from the public purse.

The family has described the decision as "unjust," adding that without legal aid, Ruth's husband and school age daughters will have to rely on the late head teacher's widower's pension to help meet their legal bills.

They said they wanted the inquest to uncover the details of what led to Ms Perry's death and what "lessons can be learnt to prevent future such deaths from occurring".

The family said any excess over and above their legal costs from the crowdfunding would be donated to the charity Inquest, which supports the families of those challenging the authorities over the death of a loved one.