One of England’s largest academy trusts has been cautioned over standards at one of its schools due to concerns over pupils’ behaviour and curriculum planning for SEND pupils.
REAch2 Academy Trust received a minded to terminate letter regarding Sprites Primary Academy in Ipswich.
The trust received the letter in January following an Ofsted inspection in October judged the school to be inadequate.
In the letter, one of seven published today, East England regional schools commissioner Sue Baldwin warned this is of “serious concern following the previous inadequate judgement in May 2018”.
The minded to terminate notice is the first part of a process which could see the school change hands if no improvement is made in either the school’s outcomes or its Ofsted rating.
Baldwin said funding “may be terminated” after the inspection noted various area of concern.
The inspection found “pupils with SEND do not do well at Sprites” and even though staff want the best for pupils they “do not have the skills to provide the precise support that pupils require”.
Elsewhere it was noted “too many pupils behave poorly” which in turn “disrupts their learning and that of their classmates”.
While many parents are said to be generally positive about the school’s work some “said they are worried about the quality of education, poor behaviour and lack of support for their children”.
The school watchdog noted many of the concerned parents “have children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)”.
A spokesperson for REAch2 said: “We were disappointed to receive this letter and want to reassure parents that we have a robust and comprehensive improvement plan in place.
“With our new headteacher Motiur Rahman now in school, we are confident that the impact of these changes will be seen very soon so that we can genuinely provide exceptional opportunities for children’s learning at Sprites.”
The Department for Education today also published minded to terminate notices to The Bishop’s Church of England Primary Academy in Thetford, King Edward VII Academy in King’s Lynn, The Brittons Academy in Rainham, The Everitt Academy in Lowestoft, Ravens Academy in Clacton-on-Sea and Richard De Clare Community Academy in Halstead.
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