A high school has been downgraded from ‘good’ to ‘inadequate’ after a snap inspection found many pupils ‘do not feel safe’ and discriminatory language is part of ‘everyday life’.
Denton Community College in Tameside was subject to a snap Ofsted inspection after the education watchdog received a complaint that raised ‘serious concerns’ about issues across the school. The Taylor Lane school was rated ‘good’ in November 2021 but the visit in December found it to be failing in every area, and it has now been placed in special measures.
The responsible local authority – Tameside council – said plans were already in place to improve standards, and the school, which has 1,378 pupils on its roll, would now become a sponsored academy. The damning report, published this month, states that a ‘considerable number of pupils’ told inspectors that they do not feel safe at Denton Community College.
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“Many parents and carers also expressed concerns about the safety and welfare of their children,” the inspection team added. “This is because of the high number of incidents of poor behaviour, along with the use of derogatory and discriminatory language, which are part of everyday school life for many pupils. Many pupils told inspectors that this language is accepted as the ‘norm’.
“Some pupils do not understand the importance of showing tolerance and respect of others. These pupils routinely use discriminatory language which goes unchecked by staff. This makes some pupils, particularly those from minority groups, feel unsafe. Some pupils do not feel confident in reporting concerns about inappropriate language or bullying. When concerns are reported, leaders deal with them using appropriate sanctions.
“However, leaders do not recognise the scale of underreporting that is taking place. Due to these widespread issues, leaders arrangements to safeguard pupils are ineffective.”
While leaders acknowledged ‘some concerns’ about the behaviour of students, they had been unable to reduce the number of incidents at the school, the report found.
“A disproportionate number of pupils are suspended from school due to disruptive behaviour, physical violence and defiance towards staff. Many pupils are unable to regulate their behaviour, particularly during social times,” Ofsted said. “A considerable number of pupils told inspectors that this makes them feel unsafe in school.”
Many pupils also do not attend the school as often as they should, either through suspensions or unauthorised absences, with this having a ‘detrimental impact on their learning and their achievement’, inspectors said.
“Appropriate risk assessments for vulnerable children who are not at school due to suspensions are not routinely in place,” Ofsted stated, adding that the system to set work for pupils who are suspended is seen as ‘unmanageable by many staff’.
The watchdog said that teachers were not ‘ambitious enough’ for pupils’ achievement and the curriculum was ‘under-developed’ meaning that children were not all learning effectively. “Pupils develop large gaps in their learning and are not well prepared for the next steps in their education, employment or training,” the inspection team said. “They do not learn all that they should.”
Students with special educational needs and disabilities at the secondary also do not study the full national curriculum and ‘miss out’ without achieving appropriate qualifications to allow them to ‘flourish’ after turning 16. Governors at Denton Community College have not held leaders to account ‘effectively’ over the quality of education pupils receive, or challenge to make sure improvements happen quickly enough, the report states.
Ofsted found that leaders had created effective systems in school to identify vulnerable pupils, and teachers record any worries about children who may be at risk of abuse which is shared with appropriate agencies to provide support to students and families. But ‘despite these strengths’, the watchdog states that many students do not feel safe in school because of the behaviour of other pupils.
“There are too many incidents of violence. Pupils typically refuse to follow teachers’ instructions. This puts pupils’ and staff’s safety at risk,” the report added. “Parents and pupils have well-founded concerns about the education that pupils receive, including how well leaders safeguard pupils. Leaders must take swift and decisive action to ensure that pupils attend school regularly and do not engage in poor behaviour.
“His Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires special measures because it 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.”
A Tameside council spokesperson said the authority was working closely with Denton Community College to help ‘improve standards as quickly as possible’ following the Ofsted inspection. “We understand that parents will be concerned about the overall judgement on the school and want to reassure them that plans are already in place to improve standards,” they added.
“The council has commissioned a successful local multi-academy trust as its School Improvement Partner to work with the school to improve, and additional governors will be appointed. This partner trust has already brought great success to a school that had previously been in this position.
“The overall judgement means that Denton Community College will become a sponsored academy and we will be working with the school and the Department for Education closely on this process.
“The school has written to parents and carers and will keep them informed of progress, an improvement plan throughout the year ahead and the support that is being provided.
“The pupils deserve a good education and it’s our absolute priority for all our schools to be good or outstanding so that children can get the best education possible. Currently 88 pc of schools in Tameside are rated good or outstanding.”
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