Troubled school improves but still tackles ‘racist and misogynistic’ language.

A troubled Liverpool school is on the road to improvement – but concerns remain over behavior leading to “racist and misogynistic slurs” being used by pupils.

The ECHO has written a series of stories about the concerns at Dixons Academy Fazakerley. One of three schools in Liverpool which are run by Dixons Academies Trust in Bradford.

Parents and teachers have raised concerns about the schools’ culture and atmosphere – including claims of “prison-like” rules and unfair punishment – but according to Ofsted, the situation at fazakerley is improving.

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In its latest inspection report, Ofsted rated Dixons Fazakerley as ‘requires improvement’ and the watchdog says it is showing signs of progress since being taken over by Dixons in 2021.

The report states: “Pupils recognize that their school has gone through a period of significant change. They told inspectors they appreciated the recent improvements the school had made. For example, most students’ behavior improves rapidly. This helps students feel safer and happier at school than in the past.”

But while inspectors found most pupils at the school behaved respectfully towards each other, they said a minority of pupils spoke of the use of “derogatory language” by their peers. Sometimes this results in the use of “racist and misogynistic slurs”, which the school is taking steps to address.

The report says some of the affected students don’t report these issues because they “don’t have full confidence that staff will deal with them”. Ofsted advises school leaders to put in place “effective strategies to identify and address unacceptable behavior so that pupils gain confidence that their concerns will be taken seriously”.

But despite these challenges, the school is making improvements. The Ofsted report states: “Since the school became an academy in 2021, support from the trust has helped to bring about improvements.

“Leaders at all levels of the school now share the administrators’ vision of providing a high-quality education. As a result, the pace of much-needed improvement has increased.”

But the report adds: “However, the introduction of some strategies has been disrupted by staff changes. Some of the work that the trust has started is just beginning to have the expected positive impact”.

Ofsted said the academy had “raised its expectations of pupil behaviour”, while acknowledging that some parents and carers were “dissatisfied by these changes”. Several of these parents have spoken to the ECHO about these issues, claiming their children have been unfairly punished and placed in detention and solitary confinement for minor offences.

Oftsed said some pupils do not attend the Fazakerley school as often as they should and too many are persistently absent. The report adds: “This is particularly the case for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND. As a result, these students miss out on the important learning and broader experiences that school offers. The school should step up its efforts to engage positively with students and their families so that the level of absenteeism is reduced.”

But Ofsted said the Dixons trust has introduced a curriculum that is “ambitious” for pupils, including those with SEND. Most pupils now study an ‘adequately wide’ range of subjects and curricula are well organised.

Inspectors also said staff at Dixons Fazakerley felt “well supported”, adding: “They appreciate the way leaders consider their workload, for example by streamlining approaches to marking student work.”

Speaking about the latest report, Chris Wilson, headteacher of Dixons Fazakerley Academy, said: “We have always been clear that we exist to provide the best possible education for students in our community and that is what drives us, not Ofsted judgements. However, we are delighted that this report recognizes the extraordinary work that happens in our classrooms every day and that we support a strong vision to deliver high quality education.

“We will continue to work closely with students, families and staff to ensure our pupils are able to meet the high ambitions we all have for their futures, focusing on providing a rigorous and joyful education for all pupils and ensuring that our school is at the heart of our community. We would like to thank our students, parents, carers and staff for their continued support.”

Jenny Turncross, corporate director of children and young people’s services at Liverpool City Council, said: “We continue to support the trust as it works hard to transform local schools.

“On our recent visit to Dixons Fazakerley, we were delighted to see first-hand the impact of their hard work to improve behavior and how warm, friendly and engaged the students and staff are. It is now a significantly calmer environment which has such a positive impact on the children’s learning. It makes a real difference to these children and our local communities.”

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