Sandown Bay Academy on the Isle of Wight has been found to be failing by Ofsted.
A REPORT, published today (Monday), has branded pupil achievement, teaching, behaviour, pupil safety, leadership and management at an Isle of Wight School as inadequate.
The Ofsted report into Sandown Bay Academy found the school was inadequate in all four inspection areas.
The school has been placed in special measures and will be regularly monitored by Ofsted until improvements are made.
Inspectors praised interim principal Shaheen Khan-Jones for implementing systems and procedures to bring about improvement, but said these had not yet resulted in good enough teaching, achievement or behaviour.
Ofsted has called on the school to provide rapid support to students in danger of under-achieving, ensure lessons are fully staffed, urgently review anti-bullying policies and hold teachers to account over their performance.
As previously reported by the County Press, parents were informed the school had been placed in special measures on Saturday. A letter was sent to parents, expressing the 'bitter disappointment' of the Academies Enterprise Trust, which runs the school, the staff and governors.
Ofsted found the school was failing in the following key areas:
•Students' achievement during the academy's first year was not good enough. In particular, they did not make enough progress in English and mathematics.
•GCSE results were significantly below the national average. These included some students who left primary school with an above-average English or mathematics level but attained grade U in their GCSE.
•Teaching is not good enough to speed up students' progress and make sure they achieve the best GCSE results possible.
•Teachers' absence is hampering students' progress, especially in English.
•Teachers do not do enough to help students improve their basic oral and written literacy skills. Books show evidence of weak spelling and grammar which has not been successfully tackled through marking or during lessons.
•Too many lessons are interrupted by poor behaviour.
•Too many students and parents do not have confidence that leaders tackle bullying effectively. The academy’s own monitoring and the findings of an external review, in February, 2012, also identified bullying as an area of concern.
•The majority of children feel safe. But there are too many exceptions to this. Some in the lower years feel insecure about being around older students.
•There are wide gaps in achievement between different groups of students. Girls do better than boys. Students eligible for support from the pupil premium do not do as well as others. These gaps are not closing quickly enough.
•Some students who are disabled or who need extra help do not do as well as they should.
•Subject leaders vary in how effectively they raise achievement and improve teaching.
•The sixth form requires improvement. Achievement varies too widely across different subjects and courses.
•During its first year, the academy's leaders did not do enough to secure good achievement and teaching.
Reporter: emilyp@iwcpmail.co.uk