‘Failing’ Langdon School in East Ham applies for academy status

A troubled school on special measures could become an academy after Government education chiefs said their improvement plans were not good enough.

Langdon School, in Sussex Road, East Ham, was branded “inadequate” by Ofsted inspectors in April less than four years after it received an “outstanding” report.

Officials from the Department for Education (DfE) visited Langdon in June and they found the school’s action plan “not fit for purpose”.

Now, the DfE has recommended Langdon seeks academy status so it is directly funded by central Government and placed outside of local authority control.

Langdon has also asked “Outstanding” Brampton Manor Academy in Roman Road, East Ham, to sponsor their application.

The spokesperson for the DfE said: “The Langdon Interim Executive Board has now decided to pursue academy status with the support of Brampton Manor Academy as its sponsor.

“Ministers will carefully consider this proposal, and all other relevant information, before taking a final decision.

“With academy results improving far faster than the national average, we believe the support of a strong sponsor is the best way for underperforming schools to improve.”

Lord Nash, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Schools, wrote to all failing schools in May to suggest they pursue academy status and pair up with a strong academy school in their area to improve.

A Newham Council spokesperson said: “We work on an individual school basis to identify the steps schools need to take to help them become outstanding.

“With Langdon, we worked with the school to appoint an interim executive board and to secure a new head teacher, who has a proven track record in improving schools.

“We want all our children and young people to have a high quality education. Therefore we have helped devise a local solution with the academy sponsor and will support the school through the academy process.”