My headteacher sister took her own life over ‘inadequate’ Ofsted grade – now huge change will give her daughters peace
A WOMAN was left heartbroken after her headteacher sister took her own life over an “inadequate” Ofsted grade.
Ruth Perry, who served as the headteacher of the Caversham primary school in Reading for 12 years, was left “heartbroken” and “devastated” after being told the school’s rating would plummet.
Watchdog inspectors told the 53-year-old that they planned to downgrade the school’s rating from “outstanding”, to its lowest rating, “inadequate”, over safeguarding concerns.
The news meant it would convert into an academy and Ruth would lose her job.
She took her life following the stress of the situation, leading to widespread calls for Ofsted to revamp its school ratings system as headteachers led the backlash.
Now, single word school Ofsted grades have been scrapped with immediate effect, with Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson replacing the judgements with “report cards”.
And Ruth’s sister, Prof Julia Waters, hopes the huge change will bring their family peace.
Julia, who has long campaigned for the one or two-word judgements to be scrapped, told the BBC her entire family was “delighted” with the change.
She said that Ruth’s two teenage daughters in particular had said “well done” to her for helping to bring it about.
Julia said: “It’s a vindication of what we’ve been arguing for.
“My overriding feeling is one of relief, it was the main thing that preyed on her mind.
“She had a really bruising inspection that left her very fragile.
“It really shouldn’t be like this, it shouldn’t take a bereaved family member for things to change.”
Julia said that “shock and trauma” of a bad Ofsted review wasn’t the worst thing as Ruth was deeply worried about the public humiliation.
Before inspectors arrived friends described popular headteacher Ruth as a rock, talented and compassionate.
However, just two hours into the inspection she turned into a shaking wreck who was barely able to speak – teachers said she had never looked so upset.
Because the result had not been published, she was forbidden to speak about it – other than to senior staff and governors.
Ruth found herself unable to talk to psychiatrists as her mental health plummeted, fearing further punishment from Ofsted.
In January 2023, she took her own life and a coroner later demanded Ofsted take action to prevent future deaths after she ruled the suicide of Ms Perry after the devastating inspection by the watchdog, “clearly” contributed to her death.
The Department for Education says 77 per cent of parents support binning one-word ratings.
Ms Phillipson said: “The removal of headline grades is a generational reform and a landmark moment for children, parents and teachers.
“Single headline grades are low information for parents and high stakes for schools.
“Parents deserve a much clearer, much broader picture of how schools are performing.”
The report card system will launch in September 2025 and be developed over the next year.
In the interim, there will be grades in four different categories. Until now, Ofsted awarded one of four from outstanding, good, requires improvement and inadequate.
You're Not Alone
EVERY 90 minutes in the UK a life is lost to suicide
It doesn’t discriminate, touching the lives of people in every corner of society – from the homeless and unemployed to builders and doctors, reality stars and footballers.
It’s the biggest killer of people under the age of 35, more deadly than cancer and car crashes.
And men are three times more likely to take their own life than women.
Yet it’s rarely spoken of, a taboo that threatens to continue its deadly rampage unless we all stop and take notice, now.
That is why The Sun launched the You’re Not Alone campaign.
The aim is that by sharing practical advice, raising awareness and breaking down the barriers people face when talking about their mental health, we can all do our bit to help save lives.
Let’s all vow to ask for help when we need it, and listen out for others… You’re Not Alone.
If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support:
- CALM, www.thecalmzone.net, 0800 585 858
- Heads Together,www.headstogether.org.uk
- HUMEN www.wearehumen.org
- Mind, www.mind.org.uk, 0300 123 3393
- Papyrus, www.papyrus-uk.org, 0800 068 41 41
- Samaritans,www.samaritans.org, 116 123