A LARGE Bradford girls’ school is making progress towards removing serious weaknesses, but bullying has increased and some pupils lack knowledge on the dangers of radicalisation, according to inspectors.

Bradford Girls’ Grammar School, in Squire Lane, was rated Inadequate by Ofsted in its last full inspection back in March 2019.

It has since had four monitoring visits - two of which focused on the response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The school, which caters for more than 1,000 students at primary and secondary level, was visited most recently on July 6 and 7.

This was the first routine inspection at the school since the pandemic began.

The report was published on September 21.

Three Her Majesty’s Inspectors (HMI) and three Ofsted Inspectors (OI) assessed the school across the two days.

The overall judgement was that leaders, and those responsible for governance, at Bradford Girls’ Grammar are taking “effective action towards the removal of the serious weaknesses designation”.

Bradford Girls' Grammar has employed three new key members of staff during the pandemic - a new principal, a head of primary school and a new senior leader with responsbility for English.

The designated safeguarding lead is now a member of the senior leadership team.

Two new governors have joined the school in recent months too.

The school also no longer has a sixth form, with the last cohort of Year 13 students having left.

Leaders have reviewed the primary and secondary curriculums this year and work has started on making them more coherent and well-sequenced.

Both phases are now working together on this, meaning pupils can build on prior knowledge.

Poor behaviour at the school is being addressed, according to the report.

There is a new behaviour policy and extra staff have been appointed to the behaviour team.

Inspectors said this is starting to have a positive impact in the primary phase, but more needs to be done to improve behaviour across the whole school.

The pandemic has compounded the challenges faced by the school and there have been more incidents of bad behaviour leading to fixed term exclusions in the secondary phase.

There has also been an increase in bullying, according to inspectors.

Some pupils and parents do not feel that these incidents are always managed well.

The report states: “Leaders need to ensure that low-level disruption is not tolerated and that staff are supported to ensure that there is a calm, orderly and respectful environment in the secondary phase.

“These are crucial priorities for the school”.

Leaders are also taking "firm" action to address incidents of racist and discriminatory language.

This includes a dedicated committee, local police talking to pupils in assemblies and holding a diversity week.

But the report states: "Leaders acknowledge that there is still work to do to ensure that all pupils are tolerant and respectful of others."

Pupils learn about a range of risks to their safety at the school, but there are serious concerns in some areas.

The report states: "Some pupils do not have a secure understanding of the dangers of radicalisation or the importance of British values.

“Leaders have taken some steps to review the curriculum for personal, social and emotional development.

“They recognise that there is more to do to ensure that pupils have a secure understanding of risks they may face and that they are well prepared for life in modern Britain.”

Principal, Mrs Clare Martin: "In a year with such unprecedented challenges we are proud to have continued to make such progress and have this endorsed by Ofsted.

"We are working hard with our parents and wider community to embed our actions so their impact is consistent with delivering even higher standards.

"Our academic outcomes have continued to improve, so we have sound foundations on which to build further success."