Brackley school placed in 'special measures' after 'inadequate' Ofsted report
A Brackley school has been placed in 'special measures' after a recent Ofsted report found it was ‘inadequate’ and ‘requires improvement’ in key areas like student absence, safeguarding and expectation of students.
Magdalen College School has been downgraded from its former ‘good’ rating to ‘inadequate’ and ‘requires improvement’ in all areas following an Ofsted inspection in April.
Ofsted inspectors found the school had serious issues with the safety of pupils, staff having low expectations of pupils, absences and pupils using racist and homophobic slurs.
The report, that was published on June 19, found the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, as well as leadership and management all to be inadequate, which is the lowest possible rating.
It also found that the school’s sixth-form provision and personal development were in need of improvement.
A spokesperson for Magdalen College School responded to the report by saying: “Magdalen College School, Brackley, acknowledges the outcome of its recent Ofsted inspection, which has resulted in the school being placed into special measures.
“We fully accept Ofsted’s findings and understand the seriousness of the issues raised. While this is a disappointing outcome for our school community, it is also an opportunity for deep reflection and renewed focus.
“Our students deserve the very best, and we are absolutely committed to transforming the school and delivering the high-quality education every child deserves.”
The school is now working alongside colleagues from the EPA Trust to put together a ‘Rapid Action Plan’ that is intended to improve the school in the areas it was found to be inadequate.
The school said: “We have acted immediately on the safeguarding concerns raised in the report, and a follow-up audit was completed by the local authority.
“The only remaining issues are with security at the St John’s site. These will be addressed through site work over the summer, resulting in new gates and a new reception area on that site.
“We recognise that working in partnership with parents and families will be vital in improving our school. We are meeting regularly with parents to establish opportunities to collaborate in the next academic year, and there will be follow-up meetings to report on progress.”
While the report found that staff members have low expectations of how pupils behave and what they can achieve, it did find that staff have higher expectations of students in the sixth form, and those students typically perform well in exams.
The report also said some pupils often don’t engage with learning activities and are late to class or absent, but they conduct themselves well during breaks or unstructured times.
It also said that while most pupils feel safe at school and know they have adults they can talk to if they are worried, many don’t report incidents of discriminatory and derogatory language as they feel the school will not do anything about it.
The report also stated that teachers sometimes leave pupils unsupervised in classrooms, and pupils have gained access to areas of the school Ofsted deems to be unsafe.
In addition, Ofsted inspectors found that the school provides staff with information on how to meet the needs of special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) pupils, but most staff do not use the information well.