Ruth Perry death: Caversham Primary School headteacher 'tearful' over Ofsted downgrade, inquest hears

Headteacher Ruth Perry was described as "tearful" and repeatedly expressed concern, stating "it's not looking good, is it?" during an Ofsted inspection of her school, according to one of the inspectors at an inquest into her death. Ms Perry's family said she took her own life following a report from the watchdog that downgraded Caversham Primary School in Reading from its highest to its lowest rating due to safeguarding concerns.

During the inspection led by Ofsted inspector Alan Derry said Ms Perry, initially appearing "very professional" in a phone conversation the day before, but seemed less confident in person when the inspectors arrived at 8am. Mr Derry noted that during a meeting at 10.40am to discuss safeguarding policies, Ms Perry became visibly upset, repeatedly expressing doubts about the outcome.

He said it was clear that Ms Perry found the meeting challenging and she started to repeatedly say “it is not looking good is it?” He added that the headteacher was “tearful” and she held a tissue in her hand. He said he asked Ms Perry if there was someone she could talk to, and if she would like to pause the meeting.

After the pause, Ms Perry continued the inspection but appeared distraught during subsequent meetings. Witnesses reported her as being unable to speak coherently and expressing the need to leave the school immediately. Despite ongoing concerns about Ms Perry's well-being, the inspection continued, leading to a final feedback meeting where Mr Derry noted that she appeared physically pained and extremely upset, expressing sentiments like being unable to face others.

Senior coroner Heidi Connor quoted from the witness statement of Nicola Leroy, a member of staff at the school, who saw Ms Perry in the immediate aftermath of the meeting. Ms Leroy said that Ms Perry was “unable to speak coherently” after leaving the meeting. “She said she needed to leave the school right now,” Ms Leroy said. She added: “We had never seen Ruth in this way before.”

The court heard that Ms Perry remained in the school, and she met again with the inspector in the afternoon, this time to discuss the behaviour of pupils at the school. Ms Connor referenced the witness statement of Clare Jones-King, a staff member who attended the meeting. She said: “She described the meeting as very unpleasant. She described you as mocking and unpleasant.”

Mr Derry said he was “very disappointed” that that was how someone would view him as an inspector or as a person. The inspection continued, with a number of further meetings held between Ms Perry and Ofsted. At the end of the following day, a final feedback meeting was held.

Ms Perry, 53, was principal at the school for 13 years. In an interview with the BBC earlier this year, her family said she was left a “shadow of her former self” after an inspection last November. The inspection reportedly took place on November 15 and 16 last year - the first since Perry took office, after rules around monitoring of Outstanding schools were changed.

On the first day, she was told her school would be dropped from the highest grade to the lowest, her family said, in what she had described as “the worst day of her life”. The report found the school to be Good in every category except leadership and management. The education watchdog accused the school of poor record keeping and failings in employment checks, which could have put children at risk. This resulted in the rating for the whole school being downgraded to Inadequate.

Describing the whole process a “complete injustice’, Perry’s sister Julia said the headteacher had a “weight hanging over her” while waiting for the report to be published. Perry then took her own life on January 8. Her death has sparked outrage in the education community over Ofsted's handling of inspections, with many calling for a total reform of the system.