Daventry school rated inadequate and requires improvement in all areas
Ofsted found that The Parker E-ACT Academy had issues with pupil absences and behaviour, and teachers not having high enough expectations of students.
A Daventry school has been downgraded from its former ‘good’ rating after inspectors visited the facility at the start of the year.
Education watchdog Ofsted found that The Parker E-ACT Academy had issues with pupil absences, concerns around their attitudes to learning and ignoring staff, and teachers not having high enough expectations of students.
The inspection report, published on Monday, May 12, found the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, and leadership and management all to be inadequate- the lowest rating possible. It also found that personal development and sixth-form provision at the academy required improvement.
Its previous Ofsted inspection in November 2021 rated the school’s overall effectiveness as ‘Good’. From September 2024, the watchdog no longer makes an overall effectiveness judgement in inspections of state-funded schools.
E-ACT told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that The Parker had appointed a new headteacher in April and is “already a very different place to the one inspected four months ago”. It added that significant changes have been made to improve the outcomes for students and transform the school.
Instability in leadership
At the time of the two-day visit in January, the academy was being led by interim headteacher Gary Carlile, who took up the position three weeks prior. His appointment followed on from the former headteacher’s resignation in December, after mounting pressure from parents and the teachers’ union.
During the inspection, the school’s instability in leadership was noted, which had “contributed to a decline in standards in several aspects of the school’s work”.
It said that too many pupils were truant from lessons and also pointed out disruption and bad behaviour from students during classes. Inspectors said that some staff felt that they were not well supported by the school in managing behaviours.
The report added: “In too many subjects, staff do not have high-enough expectations of the work pupils produce. Too many pupils do not complete work or only give limited responses. This means pupils do not develop detailed knowledge about what they have learned.”
Other concerns were raised around the quality of education for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). It reported that staff did not make appropriate adaptations in ‘too many subjects’, which resulted in students not learning as well as they should.
The watchdog acknowledged that pupils are safe in school and know they have an adult they can talk to if needed. It also found that E-ACT was beginning to make improvements in multiple areas, including implementing a broad and ambitious curriculum, better support for pupils to reduce the high number of suspensions, and addressing the inconsistencies within its SEND provision.
‘Very different place to the one inspected’
A spokesperson for The Parker E-ACT Academy said: “This inspection took place in January 2025, and since then, significant changes have already been made to secure the improvements our students deserve.
“New leadership is now firmly in place at all levels, including a new headteacher, deputy headteacher, and education director. Under this new leadership team, we have acted quickly and decisively to address the issues raised in the report.
“We are pleased that Ofsted found safeguarding at The Parker to be effective, and we remain focused on building a safe, calm, and ambitious school environment where all students can thrive.
“The Parker is already a very different place to the one inspected four months ago and we are fully committed to continuing this journey of transformation.”