Ruth Perry’s deputy headteachers have told an inquest that there was a “direct link” between their school’s damning Ofsted inspection and her death.
Headteacher 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.
On the third day of an inquest into her death, senior coroner Heidi Connor asked Jo Grover and Clare Jones-King, who were both deputy headteachers at the time, about the role of Ofsted in Ms Perry’s deteriorating mental health and death.
“Do you see a direct link between the two?” she asked the pair, who are now co-heads at the primary. Ms Jones-King replied: “Yes, absolutely I do.” Her colleague Ms Grover agreed.
Chair of governors Neil Walne also told the court that he believes the inspection contributed to Ms Perry’s declining mental health and subsequent death.
Giving evidence at Berkshire Coroner’s Court, the deputy headteachers, who had both worked with Ms Perry for many years, said they had no concerns about her mental health prior to the inspection.
In her witness statement, Ms Grover described the extreme pressure of the Ofsted inspection on Ms Perry and the senior leadership team.
“We all felt under extreme pressure and were operating under such high levels of stress I don’t think I have ever felt such stress physically and mentally for such a sustained period of time,” the court heard.
