‘Inadequate’ BBEC stung by Ofsted

BRANDED INADEQUATE Batley Business and Enterprise College, in Batley Field Hill.

The Batley Field Hill all-boys secondary school got the monitor’s lowest grade in a report released on Monday after 28 lessons were observed in late October.

The achievement of pupils was branded inadequate and their behaviour and safety requires improvement – both areas were described as good in the last report in late 2012.

Inspectors, led by Timothy Gartside, stated: “Overall effectiveness has declined since the last inspection.

“High turnover of staff, including at leadership level, although dealt with effectively by the headteacher, has hampered the college’s ability to bring about improvements.”

“Assessment in some subjects is overgenerous because some teachers’ understanding of national standards is insecure.”

They added: “The college’s work to keep students safe requires improvement because historically, governors have not regularly reviewed safeguarding.”

The report said teaching is improving, but inconsistent. Weaknesses in literacy of some pupils when they joined the college had not been addressed quickly enough, meaning some older ones lack the skills to cope with the more complex work and learning required for GCSEs.

Headteacher Sam Vickers offically took her position just two weeks before the inspection, but had been in the role for 11 months. She said: “The report is disappointing, but it’s very important to stress that there is new leadership at the school which is already having a positive impact.

“Ofsted highlighted this by saying we have the capacity to improve, a determination to make the progress that is needed and a clear vision for taking the school forward.

“We can reassure everyone that strong action was already being taken before Ofsted’s visit and, as a result, we are seeing more examples of good and outstanding practice.

“We also have several new members of staff, which is helping us to increase the pace of change and ensure standards rise quickly.

“The new leadership at senior and middle leader level, along with all staff and governors, are committed to making further improvements. We expect that our next inspection will reflect the benefits of this highly focused work.

“We achieved our best ever GCSE results in 2013 and we are confident that the coming year will be another one of high achievement.”

Ofsted will now be monitoring the school on a regular basis.