Ofsted slams 'inadequate' standards at Guernsey's Les Voies School

Ofsted has published its report on Guernsey's school for children with social, emotional and mental health issues. Credit: Committee for Education, Sport and Culture

Guernsey's school for children with social, emotional and mental health issues has been criticised for having no coherent curriculum, poor behaviour and attendance.

That's according to the education inspectorate, Ofsted, which carried out its first review of Les Voies School's performance.

Under Ofsted's framework, schools are assessed on four criteria: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development and welfare, and leadership and management.

Inspectors found that Les Voies' leadership team "has not developed a suitably ambitious and coherent curriculum", adding that "expectations of what pupils can achieve are too low".

They also said there was no "clear strategy to improve behaviour" at the school, meaning pupils "do not have clear boundaries" to encourage positive behaviour.

Ofsted also criticised a lack of assessments, saying as a result it's unclear where the gaps are in students' learning.

Ofsted said pupils at Les Voies School often 'set their own boundaries' for learning and behaviour. Credit: PA

The inspectors also said some teachers - including subject leaders - lacked sufficient knowledge and expertise to properly put together a curriculum.

Poor student attendance was also highlighted at Les Voies. Ofsted said too many of the school's 31 pupils "do not attend regularly" which impacts their education and development.

However, the school was praised for the dedication of staff, and for positive feedback from parents and carers about the support the school has given their families.

As part of its recommendations to improve Les Voies School, Ofsted has called for:

  • A new "ambitious, coherent and well-sequenced curriculum" across all subjects

  • School leaders to better support staff to establish high expectations of behaviour

  • More effective assessments to identify gaps in pupils' knowledge

  • Sufficient training and professional development for teaching staff

  • "Greater rigour with parents and external agencies" to improve attendance

Les Voies School's headteacher, Jon Furley, said "he cannot hide his upset and disappointment" at Ofsted's findings:

"I want to take this opportunity to reassure the school community that we continue to put the students at the centre of everything we do. I absolutely accept that our curriculum at the time of the inspection was not good enough. We have been working hard over the last two years to make significant revisions to improve this important aspect of school life and will continue to do so.

"As part of our continued school development work, we recognise there is lots for us to do and as Headteacher I am clear of my responsibility to drive school improvement. As the leader of this school, I do however need to state that our school achieves a great deal including excellent exam results, and we deliver positive outcomes for children and young people that have significant barriers to learning."

Guernsey's Director of Education, Nick Hynes, says as the States aims to achieve the highest standards for the island's children and young people, any inadequate judgement is a cause for concern:

"In the case of Les Voies, it is a special school catering for young people with social, emotional and mental health needs and naturally presents additional challenges for staff working hard to support those needs while ensuring educational outcomes are the best they can be for all students.

"The report acknowledges those challenges – largely around behaviour – but also recognises how committed staff are to meeting the SEMH needs of students. I know how disappointed Jon and his staff are, as they have built a very supportive network with the parents and carers of their students and believe the school is making a positive contribution to their lives in many cases.

"Nevertheless, we have a framework of external independent inspection so that we can be judged on our effectiveness and focus on continual improvement. Therefore, we take the findings very seriously and are already acting quickly with the school to ensure we address the areas for development prior to Ofsted returning for a monitoring visit within the next 18 months."