King Edward VII Sheffield: School confirms it will be made into academy following shock Ofsted inspection

King Edward VII School (KES), which has sites in Broomhill and Crosspool, was left reeling in January after the education watchdog stripped them of their ‘Good’ rating. Inspectors voiced concerns over safeguarding and bullying.

Notably, the only aspect found ‘Inadequate’ in the report was the school’s leadership – but this was enough to drop the school down to the lowest grading available.Now, in an email to parents, KES has confirmed it has been ordered by the Department for Education to join a multi-academy Trust. It is currently the only remaining local authority-maintained secondary school in Sheffield, but it seems those days are over.

The short email home further asks parents to take part in an online survey to outline what they want to see “preserved” about the school should they join a Trust.

The email reads: “The DfE has ordered that KES become an Academy and join a Multi-Academy Trust. There is an opportunity for parents and carers to share with the Local Authority what they value about KES and would like to see preserved if we join a MAT.”

It comes after how, before the report was published, headteacher Linda Gooden wrote to parents about her fears the school would be “forced” to join a Trust.

She wrote home to parents to say: “… there is a very real risk that the Department for Education and the local authority will force King Edward VII School to become an academy as part of a larger chain of schools.

“We do not believe or accept that a number of the judgements made about our school are accurate or fair and it is important that you are aware of this.”

Ms Gooden added they were attempting to contest the rating, but appear to have been unsuccessful.

In England, once a school is judged to be inadequate by Ofsted, the Secretary of State for Education issues the school with a Directive Academy Order, which means the school must convert to an academy by law.

It is understood that Ofsted’s safeguarding concerns related partly to allowing upper school pupils to leave the grounds at lunchtime. Inspectors also said they felt “a significant majority” of pupils would “hesitate to pass on concerns about bullying”.

Reportedly, the day Ofsted visit on September 27 was also the day a pupil was injured in a collision with a bus on Glossop Road.

In April 2022, King Edward VII responded to a story by The Star after five parents with Year 7 children said their children were the victims of a group of 15 – 20 ‘bullies’ who were reportedly meting out daily attacks, threats and chases. At the time, Ms Gooden said they were aware of “a series of complex incidents”, and that the school “does not tolerate bullying in any form”.

Following the report, KES shared some of the messages of support it received from parents. One reportedly said: “The Ofsted report does not reflect the school we know, value and Trust. Our children and young people are safe in this school.”