
Apparently, not everyone can tell a good school from a bad one. I take my daughter to school every day except Friday afternoons. Most mornings, we enter the playground as the kids are forming their ramshackle lines in front of their teachers before being led to their classrooms. If you're in the playground before the teachers pick up their students, you'll see responsible adults every day. Classroom assistants monitor access points, looking for obstructions to slow parents and children, Phone monitors taking smart devices from year six protesters and SEND specialists ready to greet their special people with a smile and a joke or consolation and empathy if the day has started poorly.
Mrs. Jones-King and Mrs. Grover, Caversham Primary's acting headteachers, are also constants. Both are great teachers who kids love and who command a classroom with respect. Ms. Jones, who later became Mrs. Jones-King, famously wore something sparkly to school every day. Despite the pressure, Mrs. Jones-King still sparkles, but now she wears a cardigan with a sparkly weave instead of a metallic scarf.
Every morning, the two teachers greet students and parents, listen to their important messages, laugh, commiserate, and send them off to their peers. I see them listening to parents, nodding in agreement or wondering if a parent has misunderstood something, making time, being present.
Neither Mrs. Jones-King nor Mrs Grover wanted to be headteachers. They've handled the challenge so well—I don't know where we'd be without them. They didn't want the job, but Ruth Perry, the previous headteacher, committed suicide on January 8, less than a week into the school year.
My four children attended Caversham Primary for fourteen years. Ruth Perry was school principal for thirteen years. She taught well and was kind. She dedicated her life to the school and education, but I don't know what it was like to work under her. She was a student at the school and loved being its headteacher. She started a Latin club, a Spanish club, and a GCSE maths exam in year six for mathematicians.
Ruth Perry has handled almost every head crisis imaginable. I've seen her frog-march an abusive parent from the school grounds and tackle the school run's scourge: selfish and ignorant parents who drive on and park on the pavement outside school, putting their wing-mirror safety above their children's. She handled the pandemic, which we all thought would be the worst educational intrusion. Before we knew the outcome of my cancer, Mrs. Perry made sure my daughter had a quiet place to go and someone to talk to if she felt overwhelmed.
I review Ruth Perry's emails about the school's policies and responses to the Queen's death, the Ukraine war, and Covid rules and advice. When she learned a child had accidentally accessed an explicit website while looking for Fortnite tips, she wrote to all the parents to warn them about the dangers of unfiltered and unsupervised internet access. After a nearby teen schoolboy was murdered, she went out of her way to comfort the children. Her school and leadership were always appreciated.
Ruth Perry's school was downgraded from "Outstanding" to "Inadequate" by Ofsted on the first day of inspection in November. They found over-sexualization when they saw a child "flossing" during the assessment. They also recorded "child on child abuse," a fight between two boys. After being indoors, the kids were fractious during the inspection. They also found that some staff members lacked the training to record and follow up safeguarding "concerns" at the school. Their two-day inspection found "weak" attendance oversight and that Special Educational Needs and Disability students were not being challenged.
Some of these findings are factual, but others seem to assume staff/pupil motivation and intent, which seems dubious. I don't accept all the findings, but is the system fair? Does the system prioritise staff/student well-being or is it another self-serving bureaucracy that admonishes when it should help, blames when it should support, and finds failures where it should find opportunities to improve? Is it the school's fault if they are left to their own devices for thirteen years without oversight and then find out the first time an inspector visits that they haven't followed every rule, guideline, and best practise?
Between 2012 and 2020, no "outstanding" school was inspected, leaving over 1,000 schools to their own devices. Ofsted reported that 308 of the 370 previously exempt schools with graded inspections were downgraded in the 2021-22 academic year, or 83%. 62% became "good," but 17% became "requires improvement" or "inadequate" (4 percent).
Ofsted's criteria for classifying a school as "outstanding" have changed over the years that "outstanding" schools were exempt from inspection, and a Department of Education spokesman recently said that being judged "outstanding" now was "tougher than ever," but are we really convinced that only 17% of "outstanding" schools in 2012 are still "outstanding" now? Confirmation bias? Is it surprising that Ofsted concludes that not inspecting "outstanding" schools was a bad idea?
Headteachers' personal toll? Caversham primary's Ofsted report devastated Mrs. Perry. Quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision were used to evaluate the school. The school was rated "good" in all categories except "leadership and management," which was "inadequate." The report's language is derogatory and inflammatory, emphasising "risk" rather than actual harm. The report uses "weak," "weakness," and "poor" to describe clerical mistakes. When Ofsted found problems in only one of five criteria, over half the report focused on failings.
Ruth Perry was so proud of her school and its accomplishments that she couldn't bear to wear the label "inadequate" and "weak" to the community she served for so many years. From November, when the inspection took place, to publication, Ruth's burden of Ofsted's findings grew until she committed suicide.
“Raising standards, improving lives” is Ofsted's motto. They may have raised standards at Caversham Primary, but they destroyed many lives.
Apparently, not everyone can tell a good school from a bad one.
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"Ruth perry, you will be perpetually missed, yet always remembered," the sheriff's specialization said in a proclamation. "We all extend our love, petitions, considerations, and sympathies to Ruth perry, his companions, and associates."
Ruth perry cause of death naturally
Julia Waters is Ruth Perry's sister.
Ruth loved her students and community.
Julia bravely revealed how her sister felt after the Ofsted inspection last November. 54 days later, Ruth committed suicide in despair, leaving a huge hole in their family, school, and community.
It's unfair that such a wonderful friend and community leader felt this way.
I hope Julia's bravery pays off and Ruth's good deeds continue.
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A Prayer for and for Those Who Love Her
O God of the Living and the Dead, please bless , who we hope has come into your realm today. Award harmony, light, and everlasting youth to her who has been taken from us while still a kid. May he always be aware of the tinge of your affection and the gleam of your light in your vast domain. Look delicately upon her family, whose hearts are overburdened with distress. Stroll with them; console them; encompass them with heavenly messengers to lift them from the profundity of their grievous misfortune. at long last. We stand as a family in our moments of triumph and bliss; grant us the mental fortitude to remain as a family even in the absence of . May we console each other with expressions of confidence, trust, and love. Persuade our hearts that everything works for the good of those who trust in God. So be it.
Who is Ruth perry?
Caversham Primary School has announced the death of its headteacher. Before becoming deputy head and head in 2010, Ruth Perry was a 1970s student.
Neil Walne, the school's governors chair, said Ms. Perry's death "shocked and saddened" everyone. He added that children can talk to a psychologist about the loss.
"We are shocked and saddened by our headteacher, Ruth Perry, passing away," the statement read. At this difficult time, we think of her family, friends, the school, and Caversham.
Reading Primary School's headteacher was remembered.
Reading Borough Council and its children's services company, Brighter Futures for Children (BFfC), confirmed Caversham Primary School headteacher Mrs. Ruth Perry's death.
"Everyone at Reading Council and Brighter Futures for Children is shocked and saddened by Ruth Perry's passing," a spokesperson said.
At this difficult time, our thoughts are with her family, friends, the school community, and the wider Caversham community.
Ruth was a longtime school community member.
“She was hugely respected, experienced, and well-established at Caversham Primary, where she became headteacher in 2010, having previously been deputy head in 2006 and a pupil between 1973 and 1980.
“Caversham Primary was obviously a huge part of Ruth's life, and the news is understandably distressing for everyone involved.
“BFfC Educational Psychology Team and other specialist staff are at the school working with staff and pupils and will continue to support them in the weeks and months ahead.
“The school will stay open with this appropriate support for everyone.”
Mrs. Perry died on Monday, January 9, and the council and BFfC were informed.
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