Inadequate Birmingham boys school put in special measures

A Birmingham school for boys with emotional and mental health needs has been put into special measures after it was rated inadequate in all areas.

Pupils at Lea Hall Academy were not safe and racist and homophobic language was commonplace amid insufficient staffing and a poor curriculum, inspectors said.

They said pupils “generally do as they wish”.

The trust which runs it said the findings were “extremely concerning”.

The school, on Hallmoor Road, caters for 84 boys, aged between five and 14, with social, emotional and mental health difficulties.

All pupils have an education, health and care plan but the school’s quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management were all found to be inadequate by Ofsted inspectors in July.

It was put in special measures because, in their report, inspectors said it was failing to give pupils an “acceptable standard of education”.

The people in charge of the school were not “demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement”, they added.

The school faced “significant turbulence” around staffing over the past two years, including in leadership and management, but the Forward Education Trust, which runs the academy, had since stabilised its leadership, the report said.

But inspectors said all safeguarding concerns were not consistently reported until recently, some staff did not report potential signs of abuse and, when pupils were absent, not enough checks were made to ensure they were safe.

“Pupils are at significant risk of harm,” inspectors said.

Behaviour in nearly all classes was disruptive and pupils can “pick and choose” what they do and show little or no respect to one another.

There was no curriculum in place for pupils in Key Stage 3 – aged between 11 and 14 – and, due to staffing issues, those boys were only expected to attend school for 50% of the time, the report said.

But the education they received in and out of school was “wholly inadequate”, with pupils often refusing to do any work.

“Over time, pupils have recognised that they can avoid learning and following instructions by behaving poorly,” inspectors said.

“This has led to a situation where pupils generally do as they wish.”

The school converted to an academy in September 2021 and the inspection was the first since the Covid-19 pandemic, Ofsted said.

In a statement, the Forward Education Trust said Ofsted had recognised significant weaknesses were being addressed, even before the inspection.

Parents were reassured by letter earlier this month that their children were safe in the school, they added.

All pupils were in school full time and support to improve their behaviour was being “rapidly” developed, a spokesperson added.

“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,” they added.

The trust said it would also working closely with Birmingham City Council and the regional schools director.