Ofsted accused of ‘misleading’ inquest into death of teacher Ruth Perry

Inspectors say claims made to coroner about wellbeing training following death of Reading headteacher are ‘nonsense’

School inspectors have accused their employer, Ofsted, of misleading the court during last week’s inquest into the death of headteacher Ruth Perry, the Observer can reveal.

Over the past week the inquest has heard from Perry’s colleagues that she “looked extremely distressed and upset” and was unable to speak coherently only a few hours into the inspection. The chair of governors and two deputy headteachers at her primary school in Reading have told the coroner that there was a “direct link” between the inspection and Perry’s subsequent mental deterioration and death earlier this year.