A HARLOW school that was subject to a BBC Panorama investigation has been branded “inadequate” by education inspectors Ofsted.

Inspectors visited the Commonside Road school, that caters for students outside mainstream education, over two days (May 8th and 9th)

There are some shocking conclusions made by Ofsted including:

During the inspection, over one third of staff, including the headteacher and other leaders, were absent from school.

The school’s fire safety log shows that a fire drill has not been carried out this year. Checks of the school’s fire alarm, extinguishers and emergency lighting show that multiple faults have been identified but not rectified.

There are very few robust, systematic procedures in place to ensure pupils’ safety and welfare.

Not enough attention is paid to protecting the school’s most vulnerable pupils. For example, leaders are unclear about how many pupils are actually on the school roll or their whereabouts.

Learning in lessons is frequently disrupted.

A significant proportion of pupils regularly display very poor attitudes to learning and are often abusive towards staff.

Pupils and staff shared serious concerns with inspectors about the behaviour of pupils that, at times, means that the school is unsafe. Not all staff are trained in restraint and some do not know what to do.

The main findings of the report are as follows:

Safeguarding is ineffective. Certain checks of the suitability of staff appointed to work with pupils are not carried out routinely.

Child protection records are poorly maintained. There are no systematic procedures to record the actions taken to protect pupils from harm.

Too many pupils have poor attendance, and leaders are unaware of where all pupils are. This represents a significant safeguarding concern.

Pupils’ poor behaviour and attitudes in lessons disrupt teaching. This prevents them from making sufficient progress. Not enough staff are suitably trained to manage challenging behaviour .

Incidents of poor behaviour are not recorded systematically or analysed routinely to inform actions to make improvements.

There is an over-reliance on temporary staff because many senior leaders, teachers and support staff are not in school due to sickness absence.

School and trust leaders have not done enough to resolve the areas for improvement noted at the time of the school’s previous inspection.

There are no robust procedures in place to assess how well pupils are progressing.

The pupil premium is not used effectively to improve the outcomes of disadvantaged pupils.

Poor relations between staff and the trust are undermining the school’s capacity to improve. Some staff do not have confidence in the trust to secure improvement.

The local governing board provides very limited support or challenge for leaders to make improvements.

Governors do not protect staff and pupils by ensuring that all fire safety requirements are met.

The trust board does not monitor the school’s work closely enough. Consequently, its view of the school’s effectiveness is inaccurate.

There are a few positive comments in the report.

Effective teaching and learning, combined with good-quality care, enable primary-aged pupils to re-engage in learning and achieve well.

Recent interim arrangements, including a seconded interim head of school, made by the trust to bolster the school’s leadership are beginning to have a positive impact.

An established deputy headteacher manages the school and ensures that it operates on a day-to-day basis. The deputy headteacher knows the school well, and staff and pupils value his sustained support.

Teaching in primary classrooms is good. Teachers are well organised and know their pupils well. They provide pupils with a vibrant, nurturing environment in which to learn. In this caring and supportive environment, pupils develop positive attitudes, enjoy school and re-engage in learning. Staff know pupils’ backgrounds well. They use their expertise to plan learning matched to pupils’ individual needs.

YH has contacted Aspire Academy for a comment.