A Birmingham boys school has been slammed as “unsafe” in a scathing report that claimed “the use of racist and homophobic language and swearing is commonplace and not challenged”.
Lea Hall Academy, which caters for boys with emotional and mental health difficulties has been placed in special measures after an Ofsted inspection found it was inadequate during a visit in July – BirminghamLive reports.
The report, published on Friday, October 13, claims behaviour “in nearly all classes is disruptive and at times chaotic”.
The Hallmoor Road school currently has 84 pupils aged between five and 15 on roll and converted into an academy in late 2021 – with this being the first Ofsted inspection since the Covid-19 pandemic.
The report added: “Pupils show little or no respect towards one another and rarely follow staff’s instructions. Over time, leaders’ ambition has been low, and almost all pupils receive an exceptionally poor quality of education.
“In response to concerns about pupil safety, most key stage 3 pupils (aged between 11 and 14) are currently only expected to attend school for 50 percent of the time. There is a poor curriculum in the primary provision and none in key stage 3. Pupils learn very little and often learn nothing at all.
“There is very little in place to support pupils’ personal development. A small number of pupils benefit from specialist support. Pupils are not prepared for their next steps in education.
“When pupils are provided with positive wider experiences, they show what they are capable of. Their recent musical performance demonstrated that they can be engaged, appreciate others and achieve.”
Inspectors noted that Lea Hall Academy had “faced significant turbulence in staffing over the last two years, including in leadership and management” and that this had now stabilised.
The academy however has “no consistent approach” to managing behaviour, according to the report and that expectations from staff “have been very low”.
It added: “Consequently, low-level misbehaviour rapidly escalates as pupils push the almost non-existent boundaries as far as they can.
“Over time, pupils have recognised that they can avoid learning and following instructions by behaving poorly.
“This has led to a situation where pupils generally do as they wish. Pupils are entirely reliant on adults to regulate their behaviour for them because they are not learning to do so themselves.”
The Forward Education Trust, which the academy is part of, said weaknesses highlighted are being addressed while parents and carers have been given a letter outlining that their children are safe at Lea Hall Academy.
Pupils’ behaviour, the school says, is now said to be improving “rapidly”.
A spokesman told BirminghamLive: “We have robust mechanisms to monitor and improve attendance of pupils and we are making improvements to our curriculum, including the teaching of reading which was highlighted as a major point to address.”
