An MP has met the Minister of State for Schools after a school principal took her own life ahead of the publication of an Ofsted report.
Ruth Perry was the Headmistress of Caversham Primary School in Caversham, Reading, where she had worked for 13 years.
The 53-year-old’s family said she took her own life in January, calling the inspection the worst day of her life.
Reading East MP Matt Rodda said he was aware of concerns about the inspection.
He told the BBC: “I had a meeting with the Schools Minister [Nick Gibb] and I have also raised this with the Regional Director of Ofsted.
“I think it’s fair to say that there are local concerns about the way the inspection was conducted, also about the way the Ofsted Framework and other regulations affecting Ofsted are working effectively, and the broader pressure on school leaders.”
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Ofsted inspectors visited the school on 15 and 16 November. It was the first Ofsted inspection that Mrs Perry faced as Headmistress.
Julia Waters, her sister, said staff were told on the first day of the visit that the school’s rating had risen from “excellent” to “poor”.
She said that in feedback to the senior leadership team, the inspectors said that a boy doing a floss-like dance move was evidence of the sexualization of children at the school. There were also said to have been allegations of child abuse, which turned out to be a playground fight.
“One of the most hurtful things initially was the feeling of complete injustice, that this was a complete exaggeration, to see something and come to a completely different conclusion,” Ms Waters said.
She said Ms Perry would often speak about the countdown to the release of the Ofsted report.
“I distinctly remember one day she said ’52 days and counting.’ Every day she had this weight on her shoulders hanging over her,” Ms. Waters said.
She remembers seeing her sister a few days after the inspection.
“She was an absolute shadow of her former self,” Ms. Waters said.
“That one word verdict just destroyed 32 years of her appeal. Education was her calling, 32 years summed up in one word ‘inadequate’.
“They just sadly ransacked her mind until she couldn’t take it anymore and it’s outrageous.”
In a letter to the family, Brian Grady, Reading’s Director of Education, wrote: “I will say everywhere I go that Caversham Primary is an effective, quality educational environment and a one-word term ‘insufficient’ does not do it justice. Neither does Ruth’s leadership.”
In the report on the Ofsted website, seen by the BBC but yet to be published, the regulator gave the school a ‘poor’ rating, the lowest rating.
It said managers had a “poor understanding of protection requirements and procedures” and there was a lack of “adequate supervision during breaks”, meaning students were “potentially at risk of harm”.
But it also described a “hospitable and vibrant school” where relationships between teachers and students were “warm and supportive” and bullying was rare.
Matthew Purves, Ofsted Regional Director for the South East, said: “We are deeply saddened by the tragic death of Ruth Perry.
“Our thoughts remain with Ms Perry’s family, friends and everyone in the community at Caversham Primary School.”
Reading Borough Council has been asked to comment.
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