Deputy head whose boss took her own life after Ofsted report claims inspector of ‘sniggered loudly’ & had ‘mocking tone’
AN Ofsted inspector “sniggered loudly” and spoke in a “mocking tone” to headteacher Ruth Perry, an inquest has heard.
Ms Perry is said to have taken her own life in January after she found Ofsted was downgrading her school from ‘outstanding’ to ‘inadequate’ over safeguarding concerns.
Jonathan Perry, Ruth’s husband, told the inquest that his wife had described the Ofsted lead inspector Alan Derry to him as a “bully” with his own “agenda”.
Mr Perry added his wife, 53, had told him: “If we fail on safeguarding, it is the end of my career. I’m destroyed.”
Clare Jones-King, Ms Perry’s deputy at Caversham Primary School, Reading, told the inquest Mr Derry had “sniggered loudly and had a mocking and unpleasant tone” — which Mr Derry denied.
He was also accused of failing to raise concerns about Ms Perry’s state of mind after she had become visibly distressed in their meetings.
He was asked if he left Ms Perry “to take care of her own well-being”, to which he said: “No, that’s not correct.
“I was very mindful of it.”
An inspection report published on Ofsted’s website in March found Ms Perry’s school to be “good” in every category apart from leadership and management, where it was judged to be “inadequate”.
Inspectors said school leaders did not have the “required knowledge to keep pupils safe from harm”, did not take “prompt and proper actions” and had not ensured safeguarding was “effective”.
The inquest, in Reading, continues.