Problems deepen for education chiefs after Lansbury Bridge deemed 'inadequate' by Ofsted

Lansbury Bridge School in Parr was placed in special measures after a visit by the education watchdog in December.

The findings mark a sharp decline in the school’s performance after it was graded outstanding in October 2009.

It adds to the problems facing education leaders already dealing with De La Salle Catholic secondary school in Eccleston, which is also in special measures. At Lansbury, the safety of pupils and the school’s leadership and management came under fire as inadequate, alongside the school’s early years’ provision, while the achievement of pupils and quality of teaching were both highlighted as requiring improvement.

Pupils’ behaviour was “good”, but provisions for the safety of staff and students came under criticism. The report indicated that “not all staff have received up-to-date and appropriate safeguarding training”, while “staff do not always respond quickly and thoroughly enough to incidents impacting on pupils’ safety”.

Ofsted added that “current strategies used to support pupils who exhibit challenging behaviour do not ensure that pupils are always kept safe” and that the “agreed approach to physical intervention” is “not always followed”. The school’s leadership and management was labelled as inadequate, and Ofsted said that “leaders, including governors, have not taken the necessary steps to ensure that pupils across the school are kept safe and secure” and that “risk is not minimised”. The report also stated the school “should not appoint newly qualified teachers”.

It was also noted the school had suffered a decline of teaching standards since its last inspection due to “weak leadership”, but that “as a result of the work of the new head teacher, arrangements to check the quality of teaching are now starting to improve”.

“Teachers’ assessments showing what pupils already know and can do are not always accurate” and “work provided does not always challenge pupils, especially the most able, to make rapid progress”.

Pupils’ progress in reading, writing and maths had also declined, but inspectors praised the “good start to their education” received by early year pupils and the “wide-ranging learning experiences” which pupils are provided with “which focus strongly on developing pupils’ personal and social skills”.

In response to the report, a council spokesman said:

“We are obviously disappointed with the ‘inadequate’ judgement given by Ofsted and are now working closely with the school to ensure it moves rapidly out of this category of concern.

“The council and the school leadership are meeting with parents to discuss the way forward – and we have also engaged a consultant with extensive experience of special educational needs to help get the school moving in the right direction as quickly as possible.”