A Wokingham school for special educational needs (SEN) children that was rated “inadequate” by watchdog Ofsted saw an “improvement” after council officers visited it recently.

The Northern House School Special Academy on Gipsy Lane, Wokingham, was given the grading in November last year and is run by Northern House School Academy Trust, meaning it is not under direct control of the council.

Despite this, the council still has a responsibility for the wellbeing of a number of its children.

And Paul Doherty, assistant director of education at Wokingham Borough Council (WBC), told councillors at a meeting on Tuesday, January 22, that the “current academy group is trying to improve the situation”.

When Ofsted visited in October 2018 it is claimed assessors saw a child on the roof of the school building.

Their report ranked the school as being ‘inadequate’ in all four categories it was assessed on, including leadership, teaching, personal development and outcomes for pupils.

The document read: “Safeguarding is not effective. Pupils are at risk of harm because of very unsafe behaviour, low attendance and insufficient supervision.”

It continued: “Over time, leaders have failed to support staff to address pupils’ very challenging behaviours. This places pupils and staff at risk.”

However, the report added: “The new headteacher is firmly focused on securing the best outcomes for pupils. She has made essential changes quickly to improve the school.”

Doherty said the report was “not good reading”.

Under government rules, council-run schools which are rated inadequate must transfer control to an academy trust.

However as this school is already an academy, the assistant director acknowledged that it was almost “impossible” to find another academy that would seek to take control of the school.

Next month, the council will hear from the Department for Education’s regional schools commissioner Mr Martin Post, who will give an update to councillors on the children’s services overview and scrutiny committee about how academy schools in the borough are being monitored.