A leading Bury St Edmunds school has been found inadequate by Ofsted despite inspectors finding outstanding teaching, learning and 6th form.
County Upper School was visited by inspectors on January the 16th and 17th.
In a report published today Ofsted says that the Bury St Edmunds All-Through Academy Trust school on Beetons Way âfailed to take all reasonable steps to ensure pupilsâ safetyâ adding that pupils âdo not feel safe on the schoolâs siteâ.
Ofsted’s Key Findings were:
- Leaders have failed to take all reasonable steps to ensure pupilsâ safety. They have not made the required child protection referrals to the correct external agencies when pupils have been at risk.These failures have meant that pupils in unsafe situations have not received timely help to protect them.
- Leadersâ communication and liaison with external agencies have not been effective. Poor communication has limited the ability of all concerned to understand the risks that individual pupils face and to work together to minimise these risks.
- Some pupils do not feel safe on the schoolâs site.They are concerned that it is too easy for unauthorised visitors to gain access to the site and buildings without their presence being challenged quickly.
- Governors do not hold leaders to account for standards in different areas of the schoolâs work robustly enough, including the effectiveness of leadersâ arrangements to keep pupils safe and secure.
- Governors have an insufficient understanding of the seriousness of local safeguarding risks.
The report also noted that local police had also raised concerns over pupil safety including anti-social behaviour of those who are educated on a part time basis or at home by school staff.
Security was also highlighted, with inspectors concerned that it is too easy for unauthorised visitors to gain access to the site and buildings without their presence being challenged quickly.
Despite this, the inspectors did find that ‘Quality of teaching, learning and assessment’ and ‘Outcomes for pupils’ as outstanding, with the school 6th form being highlighted as excellent and also rated as outstanding.
In a letter to parents chair of the Trust Stephen Boor said that the trust is ânaturally extremely disappointedâ with the judgement but reassured parents and pupils that County Upper is a safe school.
The school says that they will invite Ofsted back at the earliest opportunity to reinspect.
The full report and the trusts response can be found on their website http://www.burytrust.org/county/schooldata/docs/Ofsted_Jan_2019.pdf