A crunch meeting will be held later this month between leaders of a controversial academy trust and community representatives from St Neots after Ofsted rated both secondary schools in the town as 'requires improvement'.

St Neots has two secondary schools - Ernulf Academy and Longsands Academy - and both are part of the Astrea Academy Trust which is currently being criticised for its strict behaviour policy.

Ofsted rated Longsands Academy as 'requires improvement' in 2019 and parents of students at Ernulf Academy have been informed it has been handed the same rating following a recent inspection in January. 

Ernulf Academy was given the 'requires improvement' rating across all four areas assessed in the report which will be published on the Ofsted website this week.

Astrea Academy Trust says it has informed parents and has publicly pledged to turn the school around and achieve a ‘good’ rating “for the first time in a generation”.  

While there were some glimmers of positives in the report, such as changes recently put in place and the redesign of an “ambitious curriculum”, the leadership does come under scrutiny.  

Inspectors note that leaders “haven’t supported students who find reading challenging” and the “approach to improving attendance is not working well enough”.  

Support for students with special educational needs and /or disabilities and consistency in delivering the school’s behaviour policy are also mentioned as key points for improvements. 

Inspectors further documented that “some pupils who do not understand the importance of tolerance for the differences and beliefs of others”, and that homophobic language was being used.   

The academy itself has recently come under fire for the strict new behaviour policy introduced at St Ivo Academy, in St Ives, which parents have said is making their children unwell.  

Behaviour is mentioned in Ernulf Academy’s Ofsted. 

Inspectors state that staff appreciate the new approaches introduced and pupils are "demonstrating more positive behaviour" - but “some teachers do not apply the school’s behaviour policy consistently”.  

“Pupils said that this results in the actions of some teachers being unfair and not effective,” the report said.   

Ofsted can award schools four ratings: 'outstanding', 'good', 'requires improvement' and 'inadequate'. 

Since Ernulf Academy opened in 2012, it has only ever been rated ‘inadequate’ or ‘requires improvement’.

This latest inspection was its first since being taken over by the Astrea Academy Trust.   

But recently-appointed principal Mark Neesam remains positive about the school’s future and is aiming for that first ever ‘good’ rating.  

Mr Neesam said: “My focus is on ensuring that Ernulf Academy provides an excellent education of which everyone in our community can be proud.  

“I know that with the rapid improvements we are putting in place, and with the support of Astrea and our community, we can ensure that Ernulf is rated as ‘good’ for the first time in a generation.” 

He added: “We will continue to work in close partnership with our community to make this a reality for our young people, who deserve the very best from us.” 

Rowena Hackwood, CEO of Astrea Academy Trust, also said: “We have acted swiftly to make the improvements needed at Ernulf, and I am pleased that Ofsted has recognised that.  

“I have the greatest confidence that under Mr Neesam’s leadership, Ernulf will continue on its clear path to excellence.” 

Stephen Ferguson, a Cambridgeshire county councillor who represents St Neots, shared his views on the town's secondary education provision on social media.   

Tweeting in response to Ernulf Academy’s latest Ofsted, he highlighted the school’s high turnover of senior staff.   

He also pointed out that only one of the seven mainstream secondary schools run by the Astrea Academy Trust has a ‘good’ Ofsted rating.  

After posting the thread on Twitter, Cllr Ferguson told this publication: “I support the school’s ambition to reach a ‘good’ rating. 

“But Astrea has been in charge at Ernulf Academy for four-and-a-half years and I’m sceptical about the progress that has been shown.  

“I’ve been a county councillor for two years and it has been hard to establish a relationship with the headteachers; in fact it’s almost impossible because it's a constant rotating door of leadership.” 

He added: “I’ve read the reports of Astrea’s other secondary schools and I’m struggling to see a pattern of improvement – I feel they’re closer to being rated 'inadequate’ than they are to being ‘good’. 

“Feedback I’ve had from parents in St Neots is they feel education here is going in the wrong direction too.” 

The Hunts Post: Councillor Stephen Ferguson, of St Neots. Councillor Stephen Ferguson, of St Neots. (Image: HDC)

Leaders from the Astrea Academy Trust have agreed to meet with Cllr Ferguson and other community representatives at Ernulf Academy to discuss future plans, progress to date and explore ways of working together.   

“I'm not willing to wait another two, three or four years for one of our schools to be rated as 'good’,” Cllr Ferguson added.  

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A spokesperson from the Astrea Academy Trust said: “Many of the schools that joined Astrea had entrenched challenges that take time to unpick and address and we have a highly experienced team working together to make the improvements that are needed.  

"We have clear plans in place for each of our schools and are determined to bring about the changes that will secure our goal of a brilliant education for every child."

She added that the Trust recognises more work is needed at Ernulf but is confident "the school will go from strength to strength in the terms to come" under its new leadership with the changes put in place. 

She said: "On staffing, we are committed to making sure that the pupils of St Neots have the very best subject specialists and we are working with national partners, such as Teach First, to grow our own talent in the face of the national recruitment crisis that all schools are facing."