Christ the King College rated ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted

Christ the King College has been rated as “inadequate” following an Ofsted inspection in late June. 

Ofsted released the report on Thursday (October 4), stating the overall effectiveness of the institution was inadequate.

Effectiveness of leadership and management was also rated inadequate, as was the personal development, behaviour and welfare of pupils.

Whereas the quality of teaching and assessment, outcomes for pupils and ages 16 to 19 study programmes all required improvement according to the government regulator.

The report claimed some pupils reported experiences of “racist bullying” or “casual racism”, and others said that the term “gay” was used frequently as a term of abuse.

The school was previously rated as “good” by Ofsted and Councillor Chris Whitehouse (Con, Newport West) believes the rating is due to “unbelievably bad” timing and called the results “unfortunate”.

Cllr Whitehouse, the local Isle of Wight Council member for the college said: “The recent results of Christ the King at both GCSE and A-Level show that it remains one of the best schools on the Island.

“The previous Principal, who provided strong and visible leadership, had just left; and, with the best will in the world, the new leader, could not be expected to be across all the detail within just a couple of weeks of taking up position.”

Ofsted accepted that the school is going through a “transition” in leadership but said teaching leads to “broadly average outcomes on A-level and AS-level programmes”, demonstrating teaching is good in some areas but not others.

The report states: “Recent changes to the leadership and governance have halted the school’s decline.

“Teaching in English is ambitious, well planned and supported by accurate assessment. It
leads to strong outcomes over time.

“A significant minority of pupils, and their families, receive effective support or pastoral
care for their educational or personal needs.

“Teaching is better in the sixth form than in the rest of the school.”

Cllr Whitehouse added: “Hopefully, we will have a further inspection in a year or so’s time, and we will see the college return to a ‘good’ Ofsted rating. That’s what we’re all working towards. But, for me, that won’t be enough.

“I want Christ the King, and all our other high schools, to be working towards an ‘outstanding’ rating. Nothing else is good enough for our children.”

Vix Lowthion, Green Party education spokesman and teacher said: “Last year, Island Conservatives got elected to County Hall with the pledge that ‘all island schools will be rated good or better by Ofsted by 2021 with 25% outstanding’.

“Today’s shocking report completely blows that out of the water. It was a ridiculous pledge to make – as a lack of funding by the Conservative government has left island schools on their knees. And the fragmented system of academies, free schools and church schools severely limits the influence which our local council can have on education.

“But more importantly this illustrates how out of touch our council leaders are. Good local schools don’t come as the result of statistical analysis and targets. Good local schools are warm, safe and inspirational places to be! I urge all island parents to visit the schools, talk to staff and students and see daily life for yourself – this tells us much more than any Ofsted report ever can.”

You can read the full report here: https://files.api.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50029990