Ipswich's Westbourne Academy pledges 'rapid' improvement

Westbourne Academy in Marlow Road was issued with the warning by the Department for Education (DfE) earlier this month.

This follows the school being rated as 'inadequate' by Ofsted in July.

Westbourne Academy headteacher Martin Higgon(Image: Picasa/Westbourne Academy)

The notice means the management of the school could be taken out of the hands of the Academy Transformation Trust if issues surrounding matters such as behaviour and attendance are not addressed.

Westbourne Academy, overseen by headteacher Martin Higgon, had previously confirmed it was bringing in a behavioural expert after staff went on strike back in May, partly due to the behaviour of students.

Westbourne Academy staff went on strike due to student behaviour in May(Image: Lucy Taylor)

A spokesperson for the Academy Transformation Trust said: “Termination warning notices are absolutely standard procedure from the Department for Education following an Ofsted report.

"They provide an opportunity for the Department to understand the situation more fully and to work closely with us on the improvement journey.

"At Academy Transformation Trust, we had already acted with urgency before Ofsted’s visit.

"A robust improvement plan is in place and the senior leadership team at Westbourne Academy are working in earnest to deliver rapid change.

"Significant steps have already been taken, including the appointment of two new senior colleagues who have hit the ground running and are already making an impact.

The Department for Education has threatened to take the school away from the trust(Image: Westbourne Academy)

"This addresses the resource challenges the school faced over the past year and gives us renewed capacity to drive improvement.

 "We care deeply about Westbourne, its pupils, families and the wider Ipswich community.

"Regardless of any external report or letter, we would always be moving forward to make the school the best it can be. Indeed, we have improved Westbourne before, and we will do so again.

"The academy does not stand alone. It benefits from the expertise, support and improvement capacity of our wider trust family of 22 academies.

"We also welcome the Department for Education’s letter, which helps us sharpen and articulate our plans, and we value the constructive challenge of our colleagues at the Department as we continue to deliver the very best for the young people we serve.”

Westbourne Academy were rated as inadequate by Ofsted in July(Image: Lucy Taylor)

Jonathan Duff, regional director for the East of England regions group at the DfE, said: "I need to be satisfied that the trust has capacity to deliver rapid and sustainable improvement at the academy.

Jonathan Duff, of the Department for Education(Image: Department for Education)

"If I am not satisfied that this can be achieved, I will consider whether to terminate the funding agreement in order to transfer the academy to an alternative academy trust."

The July Ofsted report found numerous problems at the school including "intimidating" and "disruptive" student behaviour.