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A last-ditch attempt to further delay the publication of a damning report was ignored by Ofsted.
Governors at Eldon Primary School, the previously ‘outstanding’ school on Eldon Street in Plungington hit with an ‘inadequate’ rating last week, wrote to Ofsted ahead of the report’s publication. The school is planning to appeal the rating.
The report had already been delayed from July to September so that the school could work with local authorities to ensure proper support was in place for staff, who were said to be highly distressed at the prospect of the report being published.
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Staff welfare at schools in the wake of Ofsted reports took greater prominence after the death of Ruth Perry, who took her own life in January 2023. Her school, Caversham Primary School in Reading, was also taken from an ‘outstanding’ rating to ‘inadequate’.
As a result of campaigning from Prof Julia Waters, sister of Ruth Perry, and others; it was confirmed that from September 2024 ‘single-word judgements’ on Ofsted reports such as ‘inadequate’ have been abolished. That change came too late to apply to Eldon Primary School.
However, Ofsted ignored the request from school governors despite claims that ‘whilst a programme of support has been identified, commissioned, and is starting to be set up, we are very definitely not there in terms of ‘support being fully in place’.
Ofsted responded following the publication of the report, advising governors to address any further concerns to Lancashire County Council or the Department for Education.
An Ofsted spokesperson said: “We have acted with empathy and professionalism throughout our engagement with Eldon Primary School. For months, we took repeated and significant steps to protect the well-being of leaders at the school. But our top priority will always be making judgements in the best interests of children – even when those findings are uncomfortable for school leaders.
“We first notified of an inspection on 5 February. The school requested a deferral, which was granted. We notified again on 20 March and carried out inspection activities on 21 and 22 March, with Ofsted’s Regional Director onsite, until a pause was requested. Inspectors returned to conclude the inspection from 15 to 18 April. And we delayed publication of the final report from July to September to allow the local authority to provide a package of support for school leaders.”
The school governors were previously advised by Ofsted that they had been given assurances that proper measures were now in place.
Lancashire County Council confirmed to Blog Preston they worked with the school on support measures over the summer but would not comment on the school’s belief that they were not ‘fully in place’.
‘Come together and move the situation forward’
Eldon Primary School was graded at ‘good’ for behaviour, personal development and early years provision but was told that the quality of education ‘requires improvement’ and that leadership and management has been ‘inadequate’.
Sustained high turnover of staff and the ‘fractured’ relationship between the school and parents, along with Lancashire County Council, ‘overshadowed pupils’ experiences at this school’, the report said. It added the senior leadership had been distracted from education needs by the issues.
In a letter to parents vowing to overturn the appeal, the school’s chair of governors Abu Patel apologised to the school’s headteacher and deputy headteacher for the ‘campaign of harassment and abuse by a small number of parents and their proxies.’
Lancashire Constabulary told Blog Preston that they were involved with complaints regarding malicious communications in January 2023 but that such matters have been dealt with by Lancashire County Council since. In his letter to parents, Mr Patel said: “Examples of staff facing unacceptable behaviours range from verbal abuse, threats of physical harm, to school leaders’ car and home being attacked. This behaviour is unacceptable.”
One parent, whose child is a former pupil at the school, told Blog Preston the police had been contacted as a result of her making a justified complaint. Many parents are supportive of the school – and a petition has been started expressing that view – but others are not.
The school has been accused of not taking accountability for the result of the Ofsted but governors argue they have already taken steps to address some issues, including the selection of a parent governor, addressing parent complaints, reinstating a newsletter and holding parent focus groups.
Matthew Brown, who is leader of Preston City Council and one of three councillors representing Plungington, is calling for ‘strong and differing views’ to ‘come together and move the situation forward’.
He told Blog Preston: “As one of the three City Councillors in Plungington I have been approached by many individuals who have expressed concerns around Eldon Primary School. I have also had discussions with LCC and the National Education Union (NEU). There are obviously strong and differing views about the performance of the school and the Ofsted report has now been published and is available to the public.
“From my perspective I believe a way must be found to address the concerns of parents, teachers, the governing body, unions, and the wider community. For this to happen a dialogue should be facilitated to bring everyone around the table and improve the current situation. At the moment a lack of genuine dialogue appears to be an obstacle to progress.
“I personally do not believe a potential academisation of the school in a diverse working-class area like Plungington will serve the interests of the community with less local accountability, potentially worse staff terms and conditions and a poorer education for the children in the long term.
“There is now an opportunity for all stakeholders to come together and move the situation forward. I hope this will be taken.”
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