The new leadership team at Melbourn Village College has set out a plan for improvement after the school received an 'inadequate' Ofsted rating.
In an inspection report published on Monday, November 6, the school was given a 'requires improvement' rating for quality of education, personal development and leadership and management.
It was rated 'inadequate' for behaviour and attitudes, which brought the rating down to 'inadequate' overall.
The report stated that pupils' learning experience "is spoiled by bad behaviour", and said: "The attitudes of a minority around the school make many feel uncomfortable.
"Derogatory, offensive vocabulary is commonplace in some pupils’ everyday language.
"Staff are inconsistent in the way that they challenge these behaviours. This, in turn, damages pupils’ confidence in how some adults deal with issues."
However the school was praised for its "broad and balanced" curriculum, with requirements of the national curriculum met and all required content covered.
The report added: "Pupils with education, health and care plans, including those under the care of ‘The Cabin’, have their needs clearly identified.
"However, some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are not routinely given enough support to ensure they access the curriculum that others do.
"School leaders, including within the trust, have an accurate understanding of what needs to be improved."
After identifying the need for change, The Cam Academy Trust - which the school is a part of - appointed new leaders during the last school year.
Executive headteacher Christopher Bennet said: "When I was appointed during the last year, we and the trust conducted an immediate and thorough review of all areas of the school and identified a number of areas that needed to be improved and addressed.
"Among this, we identified that following the disruption of COVID-19, standards of behaviour needed to improve to return the school back to its previously good standards and high expectations.
"Since then, we have a clear focus on routines, expectations and standards that have been put in place and we feel that these changes have started to bring about the improvements needed, although more work still needed to be done."
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The school has also appointed a scrutiny panel of external education leaders from across Cambridgeshire to drive the improvement plan.
Mr Bennet added: "While we had already identified that standards of behaviour need to improve further and become more consistent, we do not agree with, and are disappointed by, the comments made in the report and the manner in which the inspection took place, which seemed to focus on this one area.
"For example, new systems, routines, and processes had been introduced and started to bring about improvements, and the most recent GCSE results were exceptional, demonstrating the high standards and achievements students make at the school.
"We do not underestimate the need for improvements to take place, and significant further changes have already taken place since the school returned in September.
"We are confident that improvements are being made quickly and that the school will return to being a ‘Good’ school by 2024."
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