Ruth Perry's sister: Ofsted inquest response 'woefully inadequate'

Ruth Perry's sister has called Ofsted's response to the verdict of the inquest into her death "woefully inadequate".

Senior coroner Heidi Connor ruled on Thursday that an Ofsted inspection at Caversham Primary contributed to the head teacher taking her own life.

Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman apologised for the distress it had caused Mrs Perry and said next week's inspections would be delayed by a day.

But Mrs Perry's sister, Julia Waters, said that was "just not enough".

Prof Waters said the schools watchdog had apologised "for the distress rather than causing my sister's death".

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour, she said the coroner's verdict "confirmed what I already knew, that there was something profoundly wrong with that inspection and the system that allowed it".

She said it had been "horrifying" hearing the evidence at the inquest of her sister's decline after the inspection in November 2022, which had "destroyed and humiliated" her.

Caversham Primary School, in Reading, was downgraded from outstanding to "inadequate" due to safeguarding concerns after the Ofsted visit.

Mrs Perry, who had been head at the school for 13 years, died in January this year while waiting for the report to be published.

The school has since been regraded as "good".

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

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

After the verdict, Ofsted's chief inspector Ms Spielman apologised "for the distress that Mrs Perry undoubtedly experienced as a result of our inspection".

Ofsted was making several changes to help reduce the pressure felt by school leaders, she said. As a first step, inspections would 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."

But Prof Waters said the verdict of the inquest had been "utterly damning" and that the Ofsted response was "fundamentally inadequate".

She also said Ms Spielman had displayed "a staggering lack of emotional intelligence" during previous public interviews about the case.

Prof Waters said she had "screamed and screamed" while listening to an interview the chief inspector had given to Woman's Hour a few days before the inquest started, in which she said Mrs Perry's death had been "used as a pivot to try and discredit" Ofsted.

Prof Waters said: "I really hope my parents weren't listening then, it was such a kick in the guts.

"Ofsted are doing a good job of discrediting themselves, they don't need us to come and do that."

BBC News approached Ofsted for a response to Prof Waters' comments, but was directed to Ms Spielman's initial statement following the verdict of the inquest.

Since her sister's death, Prof Waters has advocated for wholesale reform of the school inspections system, including removing the one-word judgements which range from "outstanding" to "inadequate", and has had multiple meetings with Education Secretary Gillian Keegan.

"It's not just one word, it's that word," Prof Waters said, referring to the "inadequate" judgement that had "haunted" her sister before her death.

"Her whole career, her whole vocation destroyed with just one word."

She told Woman's Hour this would be the "easiest" and "most effective" change that could be enacted.

The Department for Education has previously said the one-word judgements "succinctly summarise independent evaluations" that "highlight success" and "identify schools that need support".

After the inquest, Ms Keegan said the department would "look closely at the coroner's recommendations to consider further changes".

Reading Council and Brighter Futures for Children, which provides children's services for the council, said they fully acknowledged and accepted the coroner's recommendations.

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