Ofsted inspection contributed to headteacher’s suicide, coroner rules

Inquest examined watchdog’s role in Ruth Perry’s decline after Reading primary school’s rating was downgraded

A headteacher killed herself this year after an Ofsted inspection of her school downgraded it from “outstanding” to “inadequate”, a coroner has concluded.

Heidi Connor, the Reading coroner, found Perry’s suicide was “contributed to by an Ofsted inspection carried out between 15 and 16 November 2022” and that “during and after this inspection Ruth’s mental health deteriorated significantly” before her suicide on 8 January 2023.