MORE than 130 pupils were removed from lessons in one day when Ofsted visited one of the largest schools in the Bradford district.
Beckfoot Oakbank School, in Oakworth Road, Keighley, was rated Inadequate in its latest inspection by the education watchdog – a downgrade from Requires Improvement in May 2019.
Ofsted visited the secondary school – which provides education for 1,568 students, 154 of which are at its sixth form – on November 2 and 3 last year.
The resulting report said: “The standard of behaviour from some pupils at the school is unacceptable.”
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It added: "In the main school building, the number of lesson removals is high. On the first day of this inspection, for example, there were over 130 instances of pupils being removed from lessons."
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The new leadership team has implemented a range of strategies to re-establish high expectations and many are proving to be successful, but more must be done.
A small number of students are moved to a separate building on the school grounds because they struggle to self-regulate their behaviour in the main setting.
But this facility is not well run, the curriculum on offer is poor and the needs of the individuals there are not well managed or met, the report states.
Attendance is also an issue at Beckfoot Oakbank.
This is particularly the case for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disability).
The new executive headteacher has a very clear action plan to address this but it is too early to see its impact, inspectors said.
Meanwhile, the curriculum in English and maths is not well thought through.
The report said: “Pupils’ experiences in these subjects do not prepare them well for the next stages in life after school.
“Not enough pupils achieve appropriate qualifications in these subjects by the end of Year 11.”
Aspects of the school’s overall curriculum lack ambition as well but in “stark contrast to the deficiencies of in key stages 3 and 4”, students in the sixth form are accessing a quality provision with attendance high.
Generally, the school is starting to show signs of improvement.
The chief executive of the trust has been in the post for just over a year and has an accurate view of the school’s strengths and areas for development, and is aware that improving Beckfoot Oakbank is of the highest priority.
She is in the process of making changes within the trust to support the school, with a review of its governance already underway.
Meanwhile, the new executive headteacher – who had been in the role for a few weeks at the time of the inspection – has brought fresh ideas.
The report said: “The head of school, who also took up a substantive post in 2022, has already won the hearts and minds of staff.
“Current leaders have the aptitude to improve the school.”
A spokesperson for the school, said: “We are deeply disappointed with the findings of the recent Ofsted report and understand the upset this may have caused our school community.
“Following a period of unprecedented disruption for our students and staff since the start of the pandemic, we have been working hard to drive improvement across our school.
“We fully recognise the concerns highlighted by Ofsted and agree that immediate action needs to be taken to ensure improvement in these areas as quickly as possible.
“This has already included making crucial changes to leadership and strengthening our procedures for reinforcing our behaviour policy and high expectations for all students.
“These changes have also been recognised throughout the report and Ofsted stated that current leaders have an ‘aptitude to improve the school’.
“We are continuing to work on creating a strong curriculum, which is underpinned by a commitment to high standards and the community and particularly our families, will be reassured that safeguarding at the school was judged to be effective and provision in the sixth from is judged to be Good.
“We want to reassure our whole community that we will be working tirelessly to implement our improvement plan to bring about rapid change and would like to thank them for their ongoing support as we continue this journey of improvement.
“We are particularly grateful for the support and positive comments from a number of parents since the publication of the report.”
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