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A coroner has concluded that a “rude and intimidating” Ofsted inspection contributed to the death headteacher of Ruth Perry, as her family vowed to overhaul the “inhumanity” of single-word school judgements.
Ms Perry, 53, took her own life months after Caversham Primary School in Reading was downgraded from “outstanding” to “inadequate” after safeguarding concerns were raised during an inspection by the school’s watchdog in November last year.
Her death sparked an outcry among headteachers across the country and led to widespread calls for Ofsted to revamp its one-word school ratings system.
Recording her death as a suicide, senior coroner Heidi Connor concluded on Thursday that the Ofsted inspection had contributed to her death following a six-day inquest.
Commenting on the conduct of lead inspector Alan Derry, the coroner said: “I find that parts of the inspection were conducted in a manner which lacked fairness, respect and sensitivity, to quote from Ofsted’s code of conduct.
“It was at times rude and intimidating. This likely had an effect on Ruth’s ability to deal fully with the inspection process. Parts of this inspection were very much done ‘to’ rather than ‘with’ this school.”
Ms Connor said the evidence was “clear” that Ms Perry’s mental health deterioration and death was likely contributed to by the Ofsted inspection – citing a number of factors including the way it was conducted and Ofsted’s single-word judgement policy.
The coroner also noted Ms Perry “felt obliged to bear this burden on her own” due to Ofsted’s rules banning headteachers from sharing the draft outcome of an Ofsted inspection until it is published.
This meant that, despite her distress, the headteacher was unwilling to discuss the inspection with friends and mental health professionals.
Reading comments made by Ms Perry before she died, the coroner said: “Ruth stated that ‘This is the most untherapeutic and inhumane system, to have this on one person’s shoulders. I am amazed there are not more heads killing themselves… the shame, the pressure, loss of income, where do I go next, I am too young to retire. The Ofsted system has to change. It is totally wrong that one person is made to feel like this.’”
Ms Perry’s family members, including her husband Jonathan Perry and sister Professor Julia Waters, appeared emotional in court as coroner’s conclusions were read out.
Ruth Perry
(Brighter Futures for Children)
The coroner announced she will highlight concerns over the impact of the grading system on school leader’s welfare in a Prevention of Future Deaths Notice to Ofsted and the Department for Education
“The current system allows a school which is inadequate in all areas to receive the same overall label as a school which is good in all areas, but with some safeguarding issues which can be repaired by the time the report is published,” she said, adding that schools would face academisation and potential job losses as a result.
Ms Connor will also highlight concerns over lack of training to allow inspectors to identify signs of distress in school leaders and how to respond, including means to pause an inspection.
Her notice comes amid an ongoing parliamentary inquiry into the school’s watchdog, launched in the wake of Ms Perry’s death.
The coroner will also issue a notice to Reading Borough Council over concerns they did not carry out an internal review and the need for a more robust approach to reassuring headteachers that their employer “has their back” during Ofsted inspections.
Ruth Perry’s sister Professor Julia Waters arriving at Berkshire Coroner’s Court in Reading
(PA)
In a moving statement following the hearing at Berkshire Coroner’s Court, Ms Perry’s family said: “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.”
They said “urgent lessons” must be learned to address the current “imbalance of power” in the education system, but admitted they have no confidence in Ofsted’s current management to carry out the root and branch overhaul required.
Calling for the coroner’s recommendations to be followed “in full”, they added: “What happened to Ruth must never be allowed to happen again. We remain determined that there should be radical change, and quickly.”
The inquest heard how Ms Perry, a “doting” mother of two, had been preparing to move into her family’s dream home and loved her job leading Caversham Primary School, where she had been a pupil herself.
When Ofsted announced its first inspection in 13 years on 15 November last year, her husband said she was happy to finally have the opportunity to showcase the school’s strengths.
However Ms Perry was reduced to tears and left shaking in a meeting with lead inspector Alan Derry on the first day of the inspection, after he identified problems with the school’s record keeping on safeguarding.
At home later she appeared “distraught and distressed”, her husband said, adding that she felt Mr Derry was a “bully” with an agenda. “She was destroyed and humiliated,” the court heard in a written statement from Mr Perry.
In her final meeting with inspectors, she broke down in tears and appeared in “physical pain” after learning her school had been graded ‘good’ in all areas apart from leadership and management, which was found ‘inadequate’ due to the safeguarding concerns.
Headteacher Ruth Perry
(Family handout)
The inspector told a governor that children felt safe and the problems could be rectified within 30 days. However, thanks to Ofsted’s summary judgement policy, the error meant the school would still be graded inadequate overall.
The following weekend, Ms Perry confided to her colleagues that she was feeling suicidal and they urged her to contact her GP. Less than two months later, she took her own life.
Ms Perry’s deputy headteachers, now acting co-heads at Caversham, and her GP of 30 years all told the hearing they believe the disastrous Ofsted inspection was directly linked to her death.
In her final weeks she “kept repeating that she had let everyone down” and feared she would lose her job as the family’s main breadwinner.
The coroner was told that while Ofsted guidance states that inspectors must take “all reasonable steps to prevent undue anxiety and manage stress”, there was no specific written guidance about what to do if a headteacher became distressed.
In a heart-breaking family pen portrait read by her sister Professor Waters, loved ones paid tribute to Ruth as daughter, mother, sister, aunt and friend, adding: “Ruth was so much more than a victim of an inhumane school inspection system. Ruth was so much more than her terrible, preventable death.”
She added: “Ruth was a wonderful human being. We all loved her deeply and we miss her desperately. We shall feel her terrible loss every day for the rest of our lives.”
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) union, said: “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.”
Responding to the conclusion, a Brighter Futures for Children and Reading Borough Council spokesman paid tribute to Ms Perry as an “exceptional” headteacher, adding: “We fully acknowledge and accept the Coroner’s recommendations.
“We have taken a number of steps to better understand and respond to what impacts on headteachers’ wellbeing and to identify wellbeing concerns from the start of an Ofsted inspection.”
The Independent contacted Ofsted for comment.
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