Ofsted upgrades school run by headteacher Ruth Perry who took her own life

Ofsted inspectors have now upgraded a school previously run by a headteacher who took her own life. The primary has now been rated as good following a previous inadequate rating.

Ruth Perry was headteacher of Caversham Primary School before she died in January this year. Her tragic death follows a report which downgraded her school from the highest rating – outstanding – to the lowest over safeguarding concerns.

The school, in Reading, Berkshire, was reinspected on June 21 and 22 and the fresh report, which does mention Ms Perry, rates it good in all categories. Her sister Professor Julia Waters said the upgraded rating was a testament to the work of Ms Perry and the staff she led since the initial inspection in November last year.

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She said: “The reversal of the previous judgement in a matter of a few months illustrates why schools should be given the opportunity to correct any technical weaknesses before the final report is published. An inspection should be about helping schools with independent scrutiny, not catching them out and publicly shaming them. Ofsted’s use of safeguarding as a ‘limiting judgement’, overriding all other strengths and complexities of a school, puts headteachers in that position of constant jeopardy.”

In a copy of the new report seen by the PA news agency, inspectors said: “The school’s work to address previous weaknesses has been swift, thorough and effective. Straight after the last inspection, useful advice was sought from beyond the school. In particular, this helped leaders to understand fully the extent of the weaknesses in safeguarding arrangements and prioritise what needed to be