Boston secondary school 'strongly disagrees' with inadequate Ofsted rating

A Lincolnshire secondary school has defended itself following the publication of a damning Ofsted report. Haven High Academy in Boston was rated inadequate in its latest inspection - but the school's board disagrees with the rating and claims it has made "huge strides" since.

Inspectors visited the school, located on Marian Road, in July and published the findings on Monday, November 11. The Ofsted report notes that pupils "do not benefit from an acceptable quality of education" and states that attendance is low and suspensions are high.

The report also highlights issues with some pupils' behaviour and states that parents and carers have lost faith in the school. Haven High's headteacher, Austin Sheppard, joined in the summer of 2024. The school is part of Voyage Education Partnership, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running it.

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A section of the Ofsted report reads: "There is an inaccurate understanding of how well the school is performing. The necessary improvements have not been brought about. As a result, too many pupils continue to underachieve. The school must ensure that there is an accurate understanding of the quality of provision and an appropriate focus on rapidly securing the necessary improvements."

Three out of four categories were rated inadequate including: the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, and leadership and management. The personal development category was rated as requires improvement, leading to an overall rating of inadequate.

A spokesperson for Haven High said: "We are very disappointed with the report, and strongly disagree with its conclusions. The inspection team visited us just five weeks after our new executive principal had taken up post, and as a snapshot taken back in July, the report certainly does not reflect the school we are today, four months on.

"We have made huge strides forward since the July inspection, making progress across a number of fronts. This includes new heads of school in each campus; new year group hubs with five members of staff dedicated to pastoral leadership of each year group; enhanced training for teaching colleagues to improve the quality of lessons; and improved communications with families, providing better and more regular information and updates, including through the weekly newsletter.

"We are already seeing real impact on the ground, including a leap forward in attendance, which has improved significantly since last year and a substantial fall in suspensions, more than halving the number last year. We remain absolutely committed to building on these improvements so that Haven High delivers the excellent quality of education that students deserve and are confident that Ofsted will recognise the positive changes we have made when they visit us again."