A trust has outlined its plan to provide the 'best possible care' for pupils at a Nottinghamshire school following a damning Ofsted report. The Harlow Academy, a special educational needs (SEN) school run by The Evolve Trust in Mansfield, was rated inadequate in January 2022 by Ofsted in all areas after the watchdog found the basic care of children's needs were not being met.
The school was placed in the joint care of Nexus Multi Academy Trust and Greenwood Academy Trust - and has returned to the name of Fountaindale School. Following a monitoring visit in July 2022, a report by Ofsted states that "leaders and those responsible for governance are taking effective action towards the removal of special measures".
In the same report, the watchdog said the school continues to be inadequate. However it also stated that the school’s improvement plan is "fit for purpose".
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Warren Carratt, CEO of Nexus Multi Academy Trust, said: “I am incredibly proud of the improvements that have been made at Fountaindale School (formerly the Harlow Academy) over recent months, which is a credit to the hard work of the entire school community.
"As recognised by the most recent Ofsted inspection, since taking over leadership of the school, all of the staff, led brilliantly by our Headteacher Luci Windle, have worked collaboratively with the wider Trust and local community to drive forward rapid improvements. As inspectors noted, this includes creating a safe and stable environment for pupils, strengthening safeguarding procedures and rebuilding trust with parents and the wider community."
He continued: “Alongside our dedicated colleagues, I am committed to continuing this positive trajectory to provide the best possible care and educational experience for our entire school community, and as part of this are further developing a new curriculum, embedding a new phonics scheme and further building on our relationships with pupils, staff and parents."
Previously commenting about the findings, Laurence Jones, Service Director, Commissioning and Resources, in the Children and Family Services department of Nottinghamshire County Council, said: “We are very aware of how the situation at the former Harlow Academy has impacted on the children who were pupils there and their parents.
"The local authority commissioned an independent review of its practice to better understand if there was more that could have been done to identify the systemic problems at the school earlier and to respond more effectively. As a result of that review, we have made changes to the way our different teams and services share information about concerns in organisations so that we have better intelligence on which to make decisions."
He continued: “The local authority review revealed the complexity of responsibilities and accountabilities that span Academy Trusts, Ofsted, the Regional Schools Commissioners (now DfE Regional Directors) and health partners. We therefore asked the Nottinghamshire Safeguarding Children Partnership to undertake a multiagency review, again with an independent author, and that has commenced with all relevant partners agreeing to be involved.
“The scope of that review will include any local improvements that can be made and will also look at the way that national policy enables or presents an obstacle to timely action in responding to concerns. We expect that review to report back in early summer and it will be shared with the National Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel.”
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