Family & Education
Fresh Ofsted criticism for King David High in Manchester
Governors reluctant to accept findings of previous inspection, follow-up report says
November 1, 2022 12:30
Governors reluctant to accept findings of previous inspection, follow-up report says
November 1, 2022 12:30King David High School in Manchester, which was downgraded to inadequate in March, has received another critical report from Ofsted which said its leadership had not been taking effective enough action to remove it from special measures.
Inspector Tim Hill reported that there had been “deterioration” in the behaviour of pupils and many felt staff did not take worries about mental health “seriously enough”.
After a two-day visit in July, Ofsted found “a reluctance on the part of the governors to accept some of the findings from the previous inspection. This has led to a delay in governors and senior leaders taking the swift action necessary to begin addressing the school’s weaknesses.”
Mr Hill added, “More recently, leaders have started to make some positive changes to practice, but the impact of this work is limited because these changes are so new. Consequently, the school is not as far forward on its improvement journey as it should be.”
Safeguarding arrangements remained ineffective, he said. While steps had been taken to improve safeguarding systems, “not all staff take on board their responsibilities fully”.
When concerns are reported, “the safeguarding team usually respond to these quickly. However, a few staff are not as professionally curious and vigilant as they should be, and, therefore, some concerns go unreported.”
Jonathan Dover, the former vice-chair of governors who became interim chair this term, said this week the school “has worked assiduously to satisfy Ofsted’s demands. We believe we are well on the way to achieving that and we are hopeful that by the next monitoring visit - due this term - Ofsted will be satisfied with the progress made.”
He succeeded the veteran leader Joshua Rowe, who stepped down this month after nearly 33 years but remains as chairman of trustees.
The previously outstanding school had been accused by Ofsted of breaching equality laws because girls in its religious Yavneh stream were unable to mix with other pupils at King David outside lessons, whereas Yavneh boys could.
Mr Hill reported that leaders planned to change this at the start of this term in September “when boys and girls in all three sections of the school will have their extra-curricular activities at the same time".
But the governing body had not put in place appropriate structures to “hold leaders to account and closely monitor the school’s progress” he said. Oversight of safeguarding was “not as strong as it should be”.
Some governors, including the then chairman of the governors, he reported, devoted a substantial amount of time to the school, with the best of intentions. But they were too involved in internal management - which “hampering the school’s journey of improvement because it is adding, unnecessarily, to leaders’ workload”.
More recently, governors “have started to take a step back”, he said.
Mr Rowe, who had announced his intention to step down earlier in the year, told parents that "during the year I withdrew from anything operational and was only engaged in helping to guide and advise”.
He said it had been “an honour and privilege to serve the school and community and to see the school rise from its near-death in the early 1990's to become one of the top schools in the country whilst strengthening the religious commitment of so many.”
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