A school in Wigan has been slammed by Ofsted inspectors over concerns about pupils' safety and staff delivering ‘poor lessons outside their expertise’. The damning report published by the moderator on October 4, 2022 stated the students' learning at the Lilford Centre, one of two independent Progress Schools in the borough, is ‘hampered by a poorly delivered curriculum across many subjects’.
The Tyldesley-based school, which was rated as 'inadequate', has students referred to them by the local authority who have previously disengaged with education due to non-attendance or behavioural issues. This is something Ofsted believes is not being done adequately.
The school, which only opened in 2020, had 30 pupils on the roll when inspectors came knocking back in July and found they had ‘failed to meet the independent school standards’.
READ MORE: Detectives granted more time to question murder suspect after man found dead in house
Many teachers are delivering lessons with ‘poor content’ that is ‘outside of their areas of expertise’, the inspector claims. It is described as being rarely suitably demanding with teachers ‘focused on asking pupils to complete simple activities’.
The report stated safeguarding measures are not effective, with safety being left ‘too much to chance’, despite the pupils telling the inspector they trust staff to keep them safe. Leaders’ periodic checks and calls to home only provide ‘temporary assurances about pupils’ location and safety’, it was claimed.
“Under these current practices, leaders cannot reasonably assure themselves that these pupils are safe,” the report said. “This means that leaders are not fulfilling some of the requirements of part 3 of the standards.
“In much of their work, leaders are well guided by the appropriate safeguarding practices outlined in their policy. Leaders ensure that pupils who attend school are taught about staying safe.”
In their long list of requirements to improve, the school was told they need to get an ‘appropriate full-time curriculum’ which children working from home have access to and are monitored working on. Teachers are also required to gain a better understanding of what pupils need to learn in their subjects and be supported to deliver parts of the curriculum they don’t specialise in.
“The number of pupils with extremely low attendance is unacceptable,” the report highlighted. “These pupils are missing out on their education.
“Leaders should raise their expectations for pupils' attendance. They should further strengthen their approaches to challenging and supporting pupils’ attendance.”
Lilford Centre was credited for their approachable leaders and promoting equality. In addition to this, their lessons on personal development and their next steps in education, employment and training were praised, despite being ‘mixed in breadth and quality’.
Charlotte Barton, the managing director at Progress Schools, said: “Progress Schools Lilford Centre is a registered independent school who welcome the scrutiny of Ofsted and other bodies that come with this status. This gives us opportunities to continually improve our service for our students.
“We are disappointed with Ofsted’s findings having recently agreed an investment programme in our educational delivery, the timing of this inspection did not give us the ability to show the positive impact that this is making. However, Ofsted’s feedback combined with the ideas and support of our parents, caregivers and local authority are helping turbo charge these improvements in order to support our students to achieve their potential.
“We are committed to providing a well-rounded curriculum that is bespoke to each of our student’s needs, delivered by a well-qualified team who care deeply about their students’ well-being and outcomes. My appointment in May sees the organisation under a new leadership team and we are confident that when Ofsted return for their next inspection, they will see the clear steps that we have already been taking to drive up the quality of our provision.
“Since the inspection, we have been working closely with the local authority to keep them updated as to the progress made with our action plan and continue to maintain regular communication with our parents and caregivers around their child’s progress. All parties remain supportive of our delivery.”
Read more of today's top stories here
READ NEXT:
- Teenager who killed dad-of-one in 'unusual circumstances' walks free from court
- Driver 'covered in wet grass' headbutted police officer after high-speed chase down wrong side of motorway
- Referee left with 'significant injuries' after being attacked on pitch during amateur football match
- 'He can't afford it': Tory mayor questions Andy Burnham's vision for London-style bus system
- ‘I was neglected for hours while in labour and lost my baby - the hospital admits my child could have been saved’
