Ofsted's one-word rulings could be scrapped in wake of Ruth Perry's suicide - after coroner ruled that damning inspection which saw headteacher's school downgraded from 'outstanding' to 'inadequate' contributed to her death
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Ofsted's one-word rulings could be scrapped in the wake of Ruth Perry's suicide after a coroner concluded that the damning inspection contributed to her death.
The headmaster, 53, took her own life in January last year - a month after Caversham Primary School in Reading was downgraded from 'outstanding' to 'inadequate'.
The mother-of-two described the Ofsted ruling as the worst day of her life.
This week the government is expected to announce plans to replace the controversial system, which parents use as a guide when deciding where to send their children to school.
The move by the government is expected to be confirmed on Thursday after they publish an inquiry into the school inspectorate by MPs on the education committee, The Sunday Times reports.
Headmaster Ruth Perry, 53 , (pictured) took her own life in January last year
The Osted downgrade of Caversham Primary School (pictured) 'likely contributed' to Ruth Perry's death, a coroner concluded
Ruth's sister Professor Julia Waters (pictured) has been leading a campaign to change the controversial Ofsted system
The inquiry, which was undertaken by MPs last year, had urged the Education Department to develop a different system to the single word judgements 'as a priority'.
Ms Perry had been a pupil at the Berkshire primary school before she taught at the school for 12 years.
A coroner concluded that the November 2022 Ofsted inspection 'likely contributed' to her death.
In January, Ruth's sister Professor Julia Waters - who has been leading a campaign to change the rating system - told Ofsted boss Sir Martyn Oliver that it was not enough 'to tell inspectors to be nicer' after an Oftsed inspection contributed to the headteacher sister's suicide.
She told Good Morning Britain: 'Something that I made very clear to Sir Martin yesterday in our meeting is that it's not good enough to train Ofsted inspectors to be decent human beings and to identify stress.
'The inspectors in Ruth's inspection wrote in their evidence that she was clearly very distressed but they carried on regardless.
'It's not enough to come in and have these sticking plaster things to sort out the symptoms.
'It's the system that creates that stress that needs to be addressed.
'My sister had no mental health problems prior to the inspection.
'It was the inspection that caused her mental health deterioration and eventually, tragically, led to her death.
'It's the system that needs to change rather than simply coming and in and trying to tell inspectors to be nicer people.'
An inquest had ruled that Mrs Perry took her own life after the watchdog downgraded her primary school from 'outstanding' to 'inadequate'.
The headteacher was left 'completely devastated' in the weeks following the watchdog's 'intimidating' inspection into Caversham Primary School in Reading last year, following safeguarding concerns, the coroner heard.
Speaking on behalf of Mrs Perry's family after the verdict, her sister said: 'Ruth was more than a victim of an inhumane schools inspection system. She was more than a headteacher. Ruth was a wonderful human being.
'Ruth's death has left a deep void in our lives. We all miss her deeply. We miss her every day.'
She continued: 'The Coroner's conclusions validate what our family has known for a long time – that Ruth took her own life as the direct result of the process, outcome and consequences of an Ofsted inspection of the school she led and loved, Caversham Primary School.
A video message of Ruth urging her pupils to 'talk to the people you love' during the Covid-19 pandemic emerged earlier this month
'The inquest into Ruth's death has shown the brutal inhumanity of the system of Ofsted inspections. Ofsted likes to judge people with single-word labels. We could judge the current Ofsted system with our own labels: callous, perverse and inhumane.
'Ruth's death, and this inquest, have laid bare the imbalance of power that exists in our education system.'
Previously, a heartbreaking video of the headmaster giving an inspirational Covid-19 lockdown message to her students before she took her own life after the damning Ofsted inspection.
Her family released the video earlier this month urging her pupils to 'talk to the people you love, be kind to each other, be hopeful' and to 'take care of yourselves and each other' during the pandemic.
- For confidential support, call Samaritans on 116 123, visit samaritans.org or visit https://www.thecalmzone.net/get-support
