Tragic headmistress, 53, contacted mental health crisis team after school was downgraded – and later took her own life

A HEADMISTRESS who took her own life after her school was downgraded contacted a mental health crisis team, an inquest heard.

Ruth Perry, 53, had been head at Caversham Primary School in Reading since 2010 but killed herself on January 8 this year.

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Senior Coroner for Berkshire Heidi Connor told an inquest that the troubled headteacher was in contact with a mental health crisis team on November 21 last year.

That was just days after the Ofsted inspection which resulted in her school being downgraded from “outstanding” to “inadequate”.

Ruth’s GP and the crisis team member she was in touch with will appear in person at the full inquest hearing as witnesses.

The coroner ruled that the inquest at Reading Coroner’s Court, which is set to take place in five weeks, will examine “the Ofsted inspection in terms of how it was conducted that day” – but will not dispute the grading itself.

The inspection had been the school’s first in 13 years, after rules exempting “outstanding” schools from being looked at in-depth were dropped.

The report graded the school as “good” in every category other than leadership and management, where it was said to be “inadequate”.

It criticised the school for poor record keeping, with gaps in employment checks possibly putting pupils at risk.

This rating dropped the entire school into the lowest category possible – “inadequate”.

Inspectors noted that “most pupils behave sensibly and rise to the staff’s high expectations”.

It added: “Pupils know who to turn to if they have a worry or a problem, feeling confident that they will get the help they need.

“Relationships between staff and pupils are warm and supportive. Incidents of bullying are rare.”