A SCHOOL has swiftly moved to allay fears it will lose funding after being given the lowest possible rating by the national watchdog for education.

Southchurch High School was rated “inadequate” by Ofsted in a scathing report revealing some children were “inappropriately separated by sex”, with inspectors branding it “indirect discrimination”.

The report – the first since the school was rebranded in 2018 – also found bullying and prejudice were rife among pupils.

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Amid the fallout, headteacher Stuart Reynolds defended the school, claiming the impact of the Covid pandemic is behind the disappointing verdict.

Echo: Fighting back - Head Stuart ReynoldsFighting back - Head Stuart Reynolds

However, the school has now been served with a letter from the Department for Education’s regional director Jonathan Duff warning it could be stripped of its funding if it doesn’t improve.

“As Regional Director, I need to be satisfied that the trust has capacity to deliver rapid and sustainable improvement at the academy,” he wrote to school leadership.

“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.”

Roger Leighton, chief executive of Learning Partnership, the trust which runs the school, says his team are confident they will be able to “deliver rapid improvement” with work already underway to address issues raised in the report.

“Significant changes have included new leadership appointments, a re-launch of strict uniform and discipline strategies, new ways for pupils to report any concerns and an end to single-sex teaching groups,” Mr Leighton said.

“A recent independent review by a consultant with extensive Ofsted experience concluded that ‘the school's leaders are taking effective action towards the removal of special measures’”

“I can reassure parents that there is absolutely no threat to the funding provided to run the school – although the warning notice says the Department for Education may ‘terminate the funding agreement’, this refers only to the legal contract that all academies have with the department.

“Whatever happens eventually in the case of Southchurch High – whether it stays with Partnership Learning or is transferred to another trust – the money the school receives to operate will not be affected.”