Trojan Horse: 'Serious concerns' at Park View School

The school is not making enough progress towards the removal of special measures

There are still "serious concerns" about teaching quality at a Birmingham school placed in special measures in the wake of the alleged "Trojan Horse" plot, a report has found.

An interim Ofsted inspection at Park View School found staffing issues were "adversely affecting" students.

The watchdog said staff absences and a reliance on supply teachers were hampering pupils' progress.

Park View said the majority of absences were outside its control.

It was one of five Birmingham schools placed in special measures after an investigation was launched into an anonymous letter outlining an alleged Islamist takeover plot.

Inspectors said they had witnessed "unacceptable" disruptive pupil behaviour during a November monitoring visit to the academy in Alum Rock.

'Low staff morale'

Students and parents told Ofsted frequent changes of staff meant teaching was not sufficiently challenging and homework was rarely handed out, according to the report.

"The academy is unable to improve quickly enough because there are insufficient leaders and permanent teachers working there," it concluded.

They said one third of the staff who responded to a questionnaire felt the school was "not well-led and managed and staff morale is low".

However, Ofsted, which previously criticised the school for failing to alert pupils to the risks of extremism, said religious teaching had improved.

Inspectors also found "a renewed focus on developing students' understanding of British values and what it means to be British".

But the curriculum "remained narrow", it said, and there was particular concern that music lessons were only timetabled for year 7 and 8 students.

In a letter to parents, acting principal Adrian Packer said Park View faced "complex recruitment issues" but was working to overcome them.

He said the school was introducing "quality assurance checks" for all supply staff and was interviewing candidates for permanent senior leadership posts.