Ofsted criticism for college trust
AN ACADEMY trust that is in charge of Charnwood College has been heavily criticised by Ofsted.
The David Ross Education Trust, which runs the college in Thorpe Hill, Loughborough, has been told by the education watchdog that too many pupils are underachieving by the end of key stages two and four.
Inspectors, which visited all 13 academies within the trust, said that in 2016, pupils made less progress than the national average in reading and maths at the crucial stages.
The report into the trust said that directors and leaders were not “held to account with sufficient rigour” and there were not enough structures in place to enable them to intervene quickly and successfully when an academy was underachieving or at risk of decline.
However, the report said that recently, trustees had begun to rectify this.
Inspectors said that arrangements for governance were unclear and that attendance across the trust as a whole was below that seen nationally.
In addition, inspectors said that the trust “has not effectively supported academies in their drive to recruit staff.”
But the report did highlight the trust as having a “proud tradition of providing high quality opportunities for pupils of all ages, for example in music, sport and outward bound expeditions.”
It also noted that there had been “significant trust-wide changes in the last year.”
Charnwood College was inspected by Ofsted in September this year for the first time as part of the trust. It was told it requires improvement.
Bringhurst was inspected in May and rated good by inspectors.
Trust bosses have been told to ensure more pupils progress, attendance improves, accountability is effective and high quality staff are recruited.
A spokesperson for the David Ross Education Trust, said: “We note Ofsted’s recommendations, which are being systematically addressed, and that Ofsted acknowledges many of the positive actions taken and changes being made under the direction of the trust’s new leadership team.”
As well as Leicestershire, the trust has schools in Northamptonshire, Hull, Lincolnshire and Newham in London.