Great Yarmouth Primary: Watchdog attacked over 'inadequate' school

Ofsted has rated the Great Yarmouth Primary Academy as inadequate and placed it in special measures

An academy chain has condemned a team of school inspectors following a damning report about one of its primary schools.

Ofsted has rated the Great Yarmouth Primary Academy as inadequate and placed it in special measures.

Its report says too many pupils have "poor attitudes to learning" at the Inspiration Trust (IT) school.

IT chief executive Dame Rachel de Souza said the inspectors were "hostile" and their findings were "just wrong".

A team from Ofsted visited the school in Dickens Avenue, Great Yarmouth, on 28 and 29 November.

They found "low-level disruption to learning is commonplace" and a "sizeable minority of pupils" engaged in "highly disruptive behaviour" such as "destroying learning resources" and "hurting other pupils and adults".

'Negative agenda'

But the report also says the "curriculum is coherent" and pupils "respect differences between people".

Dame Rachel told the BBC: "I am furious. I think this report is just wrong.

"I'm not saying the school is perfect... I am saying this school was inspected badly, it was inspected by a hostile team... with a negative agenda."

Dame Rachel said she was making a complaint to Ofsted despite the process being like "wading through treacle" and would have challenged it in the court but for the high cost.

In response to the comments, a Ofsted spokesman said it "has a duty to serve parents and pupils by reporting exactly as we find when we inspect schools".

"We acknowledge that this school is experiencing changes in their leadership. However, its pupils' behaviour and educational attainment are simply not good enough," he added.

In February last year one of the other Trust schools in Great Yarmouth, the Charter Academy, found itself in the news for banning "extreme hairstyles", including one known as "Meet me at McDonald's".

The school said it was part of its strict behaviour rules.