King David High School in Manchester has been put into special measures after being downgraded from outstanding to inadequate by Ofsted over safeguarding and equality issues.
Inspectors found that “a significant minority” of pupils felt unable to share worries with staff with some feeling anxious and unsafe because they felt that staff did not treat them with respect.
They also said the school was in breach of equality laws because girls in its Yavneh stream - which caters for more religious students - were unable to mix socially with other pupils, unlike Yavneh boys.
But Joshua Rowe, longstanding chairman of the school, told parents in an email on Tuesday that governors “strongly believe that this report does not give a fair and balanced picture of the school".
Mr Rowe said, "From the very first morning of the inspection, the message from both staff and pupils was that inspectors appeared to be determined to find fault rather than to conduct an impartial inspection.”
Three years ago, King David mounted a successful legal challenge to quash an Ofsted inspection that demoted it from outstanding to inadequate mainly on equality grounds relating to separate provision for Yavneh students. The school was in the Sunday Times’s recent top 10 academically performing comprehensives in England.
According to Ofsted, pupils achieve highly and focus well on their learning; teachers have expert knowledge of their subject; and rare incidents of bullying are dealt with staff.
“Despite this, some pupils and their parents and carers told inspectors that leaders have not created a culture where concerns, including worries about bullying, can be easily reported,” Ofsted reported. “Inspectors found that, over time, there have been widespread failures in how leaders protect pupils from harm.”
Pupils anxious about mental health, physical safety and issues relating to “peer-on-peer abuse” are “reluctant to report concerns due to the way that some staff might react.
“Leaders and governors have not followed statutory guidance when carrying out safer recruitment checks on staff. Although this was rectified by leaders during the inspection, it is unacceptable. Furthermore, leaders were unable to offer a satisfactory explanation to inspectors about how they had managed allegations against adults who may be a risk to pupils.”
Yavneh Girls, who are separated from all other pupils at the school throughout the school day, do not have the same access to extra-curricular activities as Yavneh Boys and the main school and are “unable to socialise with their peers outside of their unit”.
The pupils who attend Yavneh Girls told inspectors that “they feel isolated and that the current arrangements, and the behaviour of some staff, prevent them from mixing socially with pupils in the main school and pupils in Yavneh Boys”.
Ofsted also found that some staff lack confidence to teach the newly introduced “learning for life” programme. Some staff feel ill-equipped to teach about contraception and some older pupils said they do not learn enough about different types of families or relationships.
Some governors do not understand their roles and interfere with the routine operation of the school, inspectors also reported.
In response, Mr Rowe told parents, “It is perfectly legitimate for Ofsted to highlight areas which require improvement. We welcome constructive criticism but their sweeping negative statements and their massive downgrade are way beyond the mark and border on the absurd.”
On the criticisms of safeguarding, he said, “we believe that the evidence base is not well founded. Moreover, as is the case in all schools, there will always be instances where the school might have done better but in general, our school makes a huge effort to ensure the safety and wellbeing of pupils and this was recognised in all previous Ofsted reports.”
On Ofsted's claim that Yavneh girls were discriminated against, he said "in our view, they are wrong in fact and wrong in law”.
The report “presents a picture of the school which is unrecognisable to those who know it,” he wrote.
Referring to the legal challenge three years ago which went in King David’s favour, he said, “We are concerned that this may have influenced Ofsted’s attitude toward the school. We are also concerned that Ofsted’s agenda of promoting ‘muscular liberalism’ fosters a culture that is critical of faith schools.”
