Willenhall Academy: Teacher snapped 'asleep' at school

The school says the individual is external agency staff

An agency teacher has been photographed supposedly asleep at a school where pupils threw food at Ofsted inspectors.

The photo, which labels the school "the place of sleeping teachers", has been shared widely on social media.

Willenhall E-ACT Academy was rated "inadequate" in an Ofsted report in March and teachers have been striking over management throughout July.

The academy said the teacher in the photo is from an external agency and it will not be using its services again.

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The caption on the Snapchat image reads: "And the teachers say it's the students fault the schools no good. Welcome to willenhall the place of sleeping teachers".

The school says it will no longer be using teachers from the agency

A spokesperson for Willenhall E-ACT Academy said the teacher was brought in for one day to help invigilate an exam.

"The individual pictured in the photograph is not a Willenhall E-ACT Academy employee but is a member of external agency staff," they added.

"We have expressed our disappointment in the strongest terms directly to the agency, and have informed them that we will not be using their services in the future."

The BBC has been unable to identify the individual in the photograph or the agency involved.

'Given up'

The struggling school has a high staff turnover with 70% of teachers leaving between 2015 and 2016. There have also been three different head teachers this year.

Ofsted's March report described Willenhall as "coasting" and "persistently poor" after inspectors were pelted with food.

More than 30 teachers from the academy went on strike this month over management issues and the safety of staff. One teacher spoke to the BBC about a school "riot" where staff members were injured by pupils.

A parent, who did not want to be named, said the photo "sums up perfectly the attitude of the school - the teachers have given up".

They added: "While no child is an angel, the adults in charge should be able to set standards."