School received ‘dismissal warning’ after student allegations of homophobia and bullying

Ark Kings Academy in Birmingham has been accused of “bullying, derogatory language and homophobic behaviour”, with some students claiming it was “everyday”.

A school was given a “dismissal warning” after pupils reported homophobia and bullying.

The possible closure notice follows claims of bullying and derogatory language.

An Ofsted report at Ark Kings Academy in Birmingham, West Midlands, was damning in its findings.

The warning was issued after inspectors found secondary school students did not feel safe.

BirminghamLive Reports of “bullying, derogatory language and homophobic behavior are commonplace at the academy.”

Students also had “no confidence that staff would support them if they raised concerns,” and “lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students repeatedly experience discriminatory behavior against them,” Ofsted noted.

The Department of Education said school leaders failed to recognize these problems, so they could not take the “right steps” to prevent them.

The Ofsted school report highlighted how students said there was “a high level of bullying and biased behaviour” that went unrecorded.

“Students feel they have to tolerate the frequent sexual harassment towards them,” says the report.

It added: “Some students, particularly those who identify as LGBT, are experiencing repeated verbal abuse and biased behavior.

“It means that students don’t feel safe at school.”

Kings Norton School has been told it needs to improve on areas such as truancy and child protection, which has been branded “ineffective”.

Ofsted also found that students with special educational needs and disabilities were also more likely to receive sanctions than their peers, with a “high and increasing” number of suspensions.

She judged the academy, which educates students from the ages of three to 16, to be inadequate and said principals had not “adequately controlled” student absences while “too many students were skipping classes”.

A spokesman for Ark Academy said: “While we are very disappointed with the inspection verdict, we fully accept the findings of the inspection report.

“We had identified many of the issues prior to the inspection and took steps to address them prior to the inspection.

“This work has since picked up steam and we are very confident that the school will improve rapidly in the coming months.

“We have appointed an Acting Principal and a new Secondary Principal to lead this work and the school will have the support and resources of our large, successful network to ensure all students receive a consistent quality education.”