Three Merseyside schools have the worst possible rating from Ofsted inspections carried out in the last two years.
Parents of pre-school children will find out on April 16 which primary school their children will be attending when local authorities notify families. For secondary schools, places are allocated in a fortnight on March 1.
Ahead of the announcements, the ECHO is revealing the schools which have received the lowest possible ratings from the school inspectors Ofsted. Ofsted carry out inspections of schools around the country on a rolling basis.
READ MORE: Woman funded life of Louis Vuitton handbags and foreign holidays by selling drugs
Schools in England are regularly inspected by Ofsted and receive an overall rating based on their inspection. Schools are grade on a system from "outstanding" to "inadequate". Schools deemed to be "inadequate" will then be given one of two additional categories - "serious weaknesses" or "special measures", with the latter being the most serious.
However, independent schools do not receive these classifications. A total of three schools in Merseyside had an "inadequate" rating as of January 31 this year, as a result of an inspection completed after May 2021.
One of these is an independent school and two are state-funded secondary schools. One of the secondaries has been flagged for special measures. You can see the schools which have received an "inadequate" rating using this interactive map.
The Salesian Academy of St John Bosco
The school was previously known as Savio Salesian College and was a voluntary aided school administered by Sefton Council. But the school on Netherton Way, Bootle, converted to academy status this month and was renamed.
The school is now sponsored by the Pope Francis Multi Academy Trust. In its last Ofsted report the school was put into special measures.
Andrew Dawson, CEO of the Pope Francis CMAT, told the ECHO: "As Ofsted noted in their report, at the point of the last inspection there was 'a lack of clarity about the school’s future, financial concerns and considerable turbulence in leadership and staff have all hampered leaders’ progress in bringing about much needed change'.
"What is important to stress is that all those issues are now well on the way to being addressed. The school has joined our Trust, and that partnership is flourishing. There is a much broader team now driving school improvement, which has given the school the platform and capacity to build on the positives that Ofsted noted.
"It has also enabled us to address the 'considerable turbulence' of the past by giving the senior leadership team much needed stability. In addition, the Archdiocese of Liverpool has agreed to make a significant investment in the school to ensure the buildings provide a safe and welcoming environment for all until the school is re-built.
"This follows an announcement in July last year from the DFE that our school was one of 61 schools nationally to benefit from a school rebuilding programme. All this positive change and momentum doesn’t mean, however, that we are overlooking this Ofsted report. Every comment made by the inspectors has been digested, discussed and reviewed – and progress is being made at every level."
Sacred Heart Catholic College
The school on Liverpool Road, Crosby, was previously a voluntary aided school administered by Sefton Council. But following an "inadequate" Ofsted rating, the school, like The Salesian Academy of St John Bosco, was converted to academy status and is now also sponsored by the Pope Francis Multi Academy Trust.
The Ofsted report, which in October 2021, found the school to have "serious weaknesses" in the leadership, which meant pupils did not receive the education they deserved. This resulted in pupils not achieving as well as they should across the curriculum. The report did note however that pupils felt safe and teachers wanted their students to do well.
A spokesperson for Sacred Heart Catholic College told the ECHO: "Since the school last welcomed Ofsted in 18 months ago, a huge amount has been done and achieved. This has accelerated in recent months with the additional support and rigour of being part of growing family of Catholic schools. No stone is being left unturned to ensure that the school is in a much stronger position when Ofsted next arrives.
Progress Schools
The Toxteth-independent school is part of Progress Schools - a group of thirteen independent secondary schools around England, who support local authorities and mainstream schools to work with young people who require an alternative approach to their education. Many students have diagnosed/undiagnosed SEND/SEMH and have likely experienced the trauma of a permanent exclusion from at least one mainstream school.
As an independent school, it does not receive the same classifications as The Salesian Academy of St John Bosco and Sacred Heart Catholic College, but was classed as "inadequate" following an inspection last October. The report said "leaders failed pupils at this school", with a "poor" curriculum and pupils taking qualifications "well below their capabilities".
The report added staff did not "meticulously check" on pupils' safety and well-being when they were absent from school, leaving pupils "vulnerable and at considerable risk of harm". However the report did note staff know pupils well and helped them manage their social, emotional and mental health needs sensitively.
Charlotte Barton, director of learning transformation at Progress Schools, told the ECHO: "As an independent alternative provision setting, our pupils are referred to us by the local authority when it is felt that they cannot remain in mainstream education for a variety of reasons. We work with our students to deliver a provision which is appropriate for them, with the specific aim of helping them to return to a mainstream setting, or positively progress onto further education or training upon leaving us in Year 11.
"Since the Ofsted visit, we have been working tirelessly to embed the investment programme which we had already launched into the school. This programme has the specific aim of driving up the quality of education and learning for our students, ensuring that they receive a rounded and robust education which best suits their needs. It is my hope that when Ofsted returns for their next inspection, they will see the clear steps that we have been taking to drive up the quality of our provision."
READ NEXT:
Five words man told police after finding body one mile from where Nicola Bulley went missing
Woman funded life of Louis Vuitton handbags and foreign holidays by selling drugs
Nicola Bulley search expert Peter Faulding hits back at criticism as body found in river
Man dies after BMW crashed and caught fire on M6
Beechwood gang thugs stamped on man's head as woman screamed
