A school principal described as "caring" has died by suicide after her school was going to be downgraded from "outstanding" to "inadequate."
Ruth Perry, 53, had been the principal of Caversham Primary School in Reading, UK, since 2010 having previously been a pupil of the school in her youth, before joining as vice-principal in 2006, as reported by the Daily Mail.
The school was due its first visit from the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) in 13 years, a process where schools are rated based on a number of factors.
A report by the BBC revealed that Ofsted inspectors deemed that one pupil doing the popular "flossing" dance move demonstrated "evidence of the sexualization of children at the school."
A playground fight between two pupils was also deemed to be evidence of "child-on-child abuse."
Perry's devastated family reveal that following the report, which saw the school given the lowest possible rating of "inadequate," the principal became "a shadow of her former self."
The Ofsted report gave the school "good" in every category except for leadership and management where it was given the "inadequate" rating.
The school was criticized for "poor record keeping" while gaps in employment checks, the report said, put children at risk.
Speaking to the BBC, Perry's sister Julia Waters described her family's heartbreak and how the negative report impacted her sister's life.
"All during that process, every time I spoke to her she would talk about the countdown. I remember clearly one day her saying '52 days and counting,'" Waters said.
"Every day she had this weight on her shoulders hanging over her and she wasn't officially allowed to talk to her family. I remember the very first time I saw her rather than just speaking on the phone a couple of days after the end of the Ofsted inspection, she was an absolute shadow of her former self."
Waters continued: "This one-word judgment is just destroying 32 years of her vocation, education was her vocation. 32 years summed up in one word, Inadequate. It just preyed on her mind until she couldn't take it anymore.
"She was a huge loss, she was my little sister and she was only 53, she had so much more still to give, so much more that she could do."
Perry died by suicide on January 8, just over two months before the Ofsted report was officially released.
Her tragic passing has gained national attention in the UK, with the member of parliament for Reading East, Matt Rodda, declaring he has had meetings with the school's minister as well as the regional director of Ofsted.
"I think it's fair to say that there are local concerns about the way that the inspection was carried out. Also about the way that the Ofsted framework and other regulations affecting Ofsted effectively work, and the wider pressure on headteachers," Rodda said.
In a statement to the BBC, Ofsted offered the following statement: "We were deeply saddened by Ruth Perry's tragic death. Our thoughts remain with Mrs. Perry's family, friends, and everyone in the Caversham Primary School community."
Our thoughts are with Perry's family and friends at this time.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, please reach out for help and contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741, or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources.
