Leighton Buzzard school placed in Special Measures by Ofsted

A Leighton Buzzard school has been placed in Special Measures following its Ofsted inspection in June.

Gilbert Inglefield Academy was rated Inadequate for overall effectiveness, quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management.

The school, in Vandyke Road, was rated Good in November but warned it faced being downgraded if it didn’t improve.

The report published today, said the school “is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school.”

The school has said it is “hugely disappointed” and does not feel the report reflects the progress it has made.

The report stated: “Pupils are not always happy, as bullying and incidents of discrimination are commonplace. They know that, although they can find someone who will try to help, not all staff do. Therefore, some pupils do not report concerns as, in their view, doing so makes little difference.

“Pupils are safe, as leaders ensure that suitable safeguarding procedures are in place. However, some pupils cause regular disruption to lessons and behave in a way that makes other pupils feel uneasy and worried. Pupils are not confident that staff will tackle this consistently, so they do not report concerns.

“Pupils do not experience an acceptable quality of education. Teachers do not plan learning that builds on pupils’ knowledge consistently or caters for their individual needs well. Pupils do not follow the intended curriculum effectively.

"Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) do not receive the support they need to access the full curriculum. Teachers’ expectations for them are too low.”

A letter from the school to parents, signed by headteacher Sarah Winter and co-chairs of the governing bodies, stated: “We are hugely disappointed with the outcome which we feel does not reflect the progress that has been made in the last 12 months. Our deepest disappointment with the report is that the vast majority of our students come to school with a fantastic attitude to learning; they are respectful, courteous and a pleasure to teach and this report does not reflect their endeavours.”

It further stated: “Ofsted visited our school in September 2022 – two weeks in the new school year and start of Mrs Winter’s tenure as headteacher. A Section 5 inspection was conducted and Ofsted recognised and agreed the school has accurately evaluated its strengths and weaknesses and were clear what its priorities were for the coming years. The outcome of the inspection was that the school would be inspected again within the next 18 months.”

However, it agreed that "the pace of change to date has not been fast enough".

It cited the pandemic and subsequent years as influencing factors saying "the culture of behaviour throughout the school required a complete overhaul and reset". In the previous academic year the school had excluded 10 students. "We do agree with Ofsted in recognising that this figure is too high, and it is our aim and priority to address the cause of such behaviour and not just the symptoms," the letter stated.

The school had previously struggled with recruitment and lack of funding due to rapid expansion – but says it is now fully funded with a full staffing rota.

The school listed key improvement areas as SEND provision, behaviour and curriculum.