King Edward VII Sheffield: Secondary school wins academy battle after Ofsted victory

King Edward VII School, which has sites in Broomhill and Crosspool, had controversially been downgraded from ‘good’ to ‘inadequate’ by the education watchdog following a visit by inspectors in September 2022. The shock report meant it was automatically due to be converted into an academy and forced to join a multi-academy trust, in line with the Department for Education’s policy, despite the school’s leaders and many parents opposing the move.

Ofsted inspectors returned to King Edward VII School in May to carry out a new two-day inspection and this time it was rated ‘good’ overall and for every one of the criteria on which it was judged.

Today, Thursday, July 20, the school announced that the academy order had been revoked with immediate effect following an application by the school to the Education Secretary Gillian Keegan.

King Edward VII's headteacher Linda Gooden said: "It is an overwhelming, astonishing and rare achievement to be able to transform the fortunes of King Edward VII School in eight months from the first inspection in September 2022 to the second one in May 2023.

"The school is back in control of its destiny and will go through a period of reflection before taking the next steps to consider the future of our iconic and successful school.

"I wish to thank again all our parents and carers who have provided immense and unwavering support for their school via their parents’ campaign. Their strategic focus, relentless support, resilience and determination to assist the school they know so very well are worthy of high praise."

King Edward VII, which has 1,777 students, is Sheffield's last remaining local authority-maintained secondary school. Its famous former pupils include Def Leppard singer Joe Elliott and the journalist Emily Maitlis. Its Ofsted rating had been downgraded after inspectors raised safeguarding concerns but the latest report described the safeguarding measures now in place as 'effective'.

Sheffield's Labour MPs had backed the school's fight to avoid being converted into an academy.

Parents mounted a petition and organised a protest in the city centre as part of the campaign against the academisation order.

Dave Clay, one of the parents involbed in the campaign, said he was 'ecstatic' to hear the academy order had been lifted but that it was 'ridiculous we had to go through all this'.

He told The Star: "The findings from the original inspection bore no resemblance to the school my daughter attends. That original report was flawed.

"When people asked me what was the problem I said the problem was the inspection, not the school. All large schools will have some problems and of course it's not perfect but it's a very good school and it's famous for the way it looks after its children.

"We parents care about our children and we wouldn't have had to fight against Ofsted like we did if it was maintaining or raising the educational experience of our children like it was set up to do."

Ruth Milsom, Labour councillor for Crookes and Crosspool, said: "This has been a brilliant parent-led campaign, demonstrating the strength that people can exert when they unite around a common cause and don't give up.

"The passion that campaigners have shown in fighting for the very heart of the school where their children thrive has been very powerful. It just shows that even in these times when so much seems to be out of our control, it is always worth standing up for what matters most to you."