An academy school mired in controversy over protection practices was downgraded from ‘excellent’ to ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted.
In May, Holland Park School in Kensington, west London, was found to have a “culture of fear and favoritism”.
An investigation by its governors uncovered “public humiliation” or shouting used as a behavioral guideline.
Students and teachers were also exposed to sexism, Islamophobia and racism.
The school announced last year that former principal Colin Hall would be taking early retirement, while a new chairman of the governors was appointed.
Now Ofsted concludes that “turbulence” in the school leadership has “destabilized” the school community.
Inspectors found that many aspects of school life, including student behavior, had “decreased significantly” since a previous inspection seven years ago.
The regulator said students and staff “welcomed the governors’ intervention to stop previous behavior management policies that they found unacceptable.”
However, the code of conduct has not been updated, leaving a “vacuum” in which staff and students are confused about how to deal with unacceptable behavior, some of which spills over into the community after school, Ofsted said.
- An inappropriate response to the case of a teacher who had a relationship with a student
- Inappropriate use of the isolation room
- Open discussion at staff meetings about the personal appearance of teachers
- Rapid promotion of newly qualified teachers to senior management positions without relevant training or experience
- Inappropriate Disclosure of Confidential Information
- Staff questionnaires related to the January 2020 Ofsted inspection were destroyed at the instigation of some senior management
A spokesman for the school said: “Ofsted has independently identified many of the long-term, historical weaknesses that governors have also been concerned about and have worked extremely hard with school leaders, staff and outside partners to address.
“These serious issues were also outlined in the independent investigation report and notice of improvement issued by the government to the school last year.
“We are now asking that the entire school community come together and agree on a strategy to help the school achieve the standards our students deserve.”
The Department of Education previously issued an improvement notice to the school in November, highlighting financial mismanagement, as well as “inflated salaries and failure to obtain government prior approval for “novel and controversial” spending.”
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