Ruth Perry's family say headteacher was 'let down' by callous inhumane inspection system'

• Ruth Perry's sister Julia Waters gives her reaction following the inquest conclusion.

The family of Reading headteacher, Ruth Perry, who took her own life after Ofsted downgraded her primary school in Caversham to inadequate, say she was 'let down' by the inspection system - which they describe as 'callous, perverse and inhumane'.

Today, an inquest ruled the Ofsted inspection 'likely contributed' to Ruth's death.

Senior Coroner Heidi Connor said it 'lacked fairness, respect and sensitivity' - and was at times 'rude and intimidating'.

Ruth took her own life in January while waiting for the report to be published.

Speaking following the verdict, Ruth Perry's sister, Julia Waters said: "Ruth was a headteacher and also a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister and a dear friend to so many people. She died 11 months ago tomorrow, her death has left an unfillable hole in all our lives.

"Today the coroners conclusions validate what our family has known all along, that Ruth took her own life as the direct result of the process outcome and consequences of an Ofsted inspection of the school she lead and loved Caversham Primary.

"The inquest into Ruths death has shown the brutal inhumanity of the system of Oftsed inspections. Oftsed likes to judge people with single word labels. We could judge the current Ofsted system with our own labels: callous, perverse, inhumane.

"Ruths death and this inquest have laid bare the imbalance of power that exists in our education system. Schools and teachers should be accountable to the families and communities they serve.

"Ruth of all people understood this. She was let down by an Ofsted system beset with glaring gaps, inconsistencies and blind spots. Yet held the power to destroy her career and put an end to her school as she knew it.

"There are now urgent lessons that must be learnt from Ruths death. Oftsed has grudgingly made some changes, but these changes go nowhere near far enough.

"We have no confidence that Ofsted, under its current leadership and management is either willing or able to make the widespread rotton branch reforms to its systems and culture that are so urgently needed.

"The new chief inspector of schools faces a massive challenge to put these failings right.

"We would like to thank the coroner Mrs Heidi Connor for her integrity, rigour and humanity throughout the inquest. We hope that the coroners recommendations will be followed in full and will help to prevent future deaths. What happened to ruth must never be allowed to happen again. We remain determined that there must be radical change and quickly.

"We would like to thank ruths friends, fellow reading headteachers, the families of Caversham Primary and the wider community who have shown incredible love and kindness to us and to each other.

"This inquest has also exposed another systemic imbalance of power, that is the injustice of a legal aid system whoch refuses to support a bereaved family even when facing three public bodies who susbtantial legal costs are paid for by the taxpayer.

"I should like to thank the thousands of kind and generous members of the public who responded to our crowdfunding campaign, after we learnt just days before the start of the inquest that are application for legal aid had been refused.

"We could not go through the gruelling ordeal of an inquest without legal representation and i hope lessons can be learnt about the way the legal aid system should change to support bereaved families facing public bodies.

"Finally one of the terrible features of the current school inspection system is the public focus on a named individual, the head teacher and the potentially harmful consequences of being publicly named and shamed.

"We're very grateful for the responsible way the media has reported Ruth's death and the inquest. But my family are concerned about the sometimes very pointed personalised focus on other individuals including the inspectors that carried out the Ofsted inspection at Caversham Primary.

"Our concern has never been with individuals, but with Ofsted's inhumane system with in which they worked. Please be conscious of this with reporting and discussions on social media.

"As fellow human beings, we all owe each other a duty of care. As Ruth used to say there's nothing more important in life than kindness, be kind always."

The inquest into Mrs Perry's death was told Ofsted inspectors were not given specific written guidance about what to do if a headteacher becomes distressed during an inspection.

The inquest heard that there was one reference about managing stress in the guidance given to Ofsted inspectors before November 2022.

The guidance said that inspectors must take “all reasonable steps to prevent undue anxiety and manage stress” while conducting inspections.

Giving evidence to the inquest, Christopher Russell, Ofsted’s national director for education, agreed that there was no specific written guidance as to what an inspector should do if a headteacher becomes distressed.

However, he said: “We do feel that we train inspectors in a way that expects them to inspect in a way that minimises stress and anxiety.”

He added that the watchdog recruited inspectors “who work at a high level in the school system” and who would be experienced with managing stressful situations.

“When we train inspectors we certainly talk about how to manage the situation in a way that reduces stress,” he said.

The inquest heard that inspectors were told that they could pause inspections for “public health or other reasons”.

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