ST LUKE’S School is still a long way from meeting standards according to Ofsted, more than a year since it was placed into special measures.

The troubled school has had its fair share of criticism in recent months after abruptly closed its doors to students back in September amid safety concerns due to a number of staff leaving.

At the end of last year, the school, which caters for pupils with a range of behavioural and educational needs, was rated inadequate by Ofsted.

Concerns included safeguarding and increasing non-attendance levels among pupils.

The school was ordered to urgently improve the effectiveness of its leadership and ensure the curriculum is fit for purpose so that all pupils can achieve well.

In the past month, St Luke’s has tried to restore some order by becoming part of the White Horse Federation – a multi-academy trust – which will take over the operations of the school, including all aspects of day-to-day management.

Swindon Borough Council will retain legal responsibility until a formal deal to hand over the community school to the federation is agreed.

But this week, Ofsted dealt another blow to St Luke’s by publishing its findings from a recent visit, aimed at seeing how the school was implementing changes based on the special measures put in place.

Inspector Iain Freeland said the curriculum remains too narrow and: “Leaders have attempted to broaden the curriculum. However, it remains too narrow. The plans for the teaching of personal, social and health education are weak and the statutory requirement for the teaching of religious education is not being met.

"Leaders cannot assure themselves that pupils are safe throughout the school day”.

Changes made since the last inspection have not been implemented consistently by staff and many systems, such as behaviour tracking and rewards for pupils, have been changed since the previous inspection.

However, leaders have not ensured that they are implemented consistently by all staff. Consequently, staff do not have the same expectations or follow agreed protocols.

As a result, pupils’ progress and behaviour varies class by class.

“The quality of teaching, learning and assessment remains inadequate," said Mr Freeland.

"Teachers’ expectations of what pupils are able to achieve are often too low”.

While incidents of violent and destructive behaviour had reduced dramatically, pupils still had a poor attitude to learning.

He said: “Pupils’ behaviour continues to be a concern. While the number of incidents of violent and destructive behaviours have reduced dramatically, the incessant lack of focus on learning, arguments between pupils and poor attitudes to learning continue.”

In summary, Mr Freeland said the school’s improvement plan is not fit for purpose.

But Ofsted praised improvements to how some aspects of school life had improved including their safeguarding procedures and how staff show a good understanding of the different types of child abuse.

A Swindon Borough Council spokesman said: “We are extremely disappointed by this latest Ofsted report and none of the findings are a surprise. We know there are some real issues at St Luke’s and we have been working hard to address them.

“A considerable amount of funding has been given to the school to provide additional support for staffing and one-to-one support for learning.

"We have also been working with a new Academy provider for some time and last week we were able to confirm that the White Horse Federation will take over the day-to-day management of the school.”

Dr Nick Capstick, chief executive of The White Horse Federation, said: “Since Ofsted visited St Luke’s to carry out their inspection we have been appointed by Swindon Borough Council to manage all aspects of running the school.

"This is a very positive move, which is already seeing improvements made to St Luke’s and has provided the stability and leadership needed to make the changes necessary for the benefit of all pupils, staff and the local community.

“The comments made in the report have not come as a surprise and we look forward to showing Ofsted a much improved school when they return for their next monitoring inspection.”