A BRIGHTON school has been rated “inadequate” by the government’s education watchdog Ofsted in a critical report which is due to be published this week.

The report gave the inadequate rating – the lowest of four grades – to the Brighton Aldridge Community Academy (BACA).

Ofsted raised concerns about “bullying, racism, sexism and homophobia” as well as low-level disruption in lessons and ineffective safeguarding arrangements.

The watchdog said: “Pupils say that they do not feel safe or respected in school. Many consider bullying, racism, sexism and homophobia to be commonplace and unchallenged by leaders and staff.

“Derogatory terms are regularly used against pupils with autism spectrum disorder and those attending the school’s specialist unit.

“Homophobia has been normalised by the frequent use of offensive language. A culture of disrespect pervades.

“Behaviour in lessons is more orderly. In lessons visited by inspectors, most pupils were engaged in the activities planned by teachers.

“However, low-level disruption is commonplace. The school’s behaviour log identifies a significantly high number of pupils being removed from the classroom.

“Provision for these removed pupils is poor with little work being provided to prevent them falling further behind.

“Pupils’ behaviour is often unchallenged by teaching staff. Expectations for pupils are not high enough.”

The report follows a two-day inspection at the school, off Lewes Road, by four inspectors in early March.

It also said: “The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective. Pupils told us that they do not feel safe in the school.

“They feel that their concerns are not taken seriously by staff and that issues are not dealt with effectively. They lack confidence in the fairness of the school’s systems to resolve incidents.

“Parents do not feel that their children are safe in the school. A meeting with parents raised some serious safeguarding concerns which had not been dealt with appropriately by the school.

“The systems for reporting and recording concerns are not rigorous enough. Procedures for disclosures are not followed through. Records of pupils receiving education elsewhere are lax.”

And the report added: “Expectations of pupils’ behaviour are not high enough. Poor behaviour is not tackled rigorously. Learning is disrupted, and the policy to manage behaviour is not reducing incidents of poor behaviour.

“Leaders and governors should ensure that all staff have consistently high expectations. Staff should be supported to tackle pupils’ poor behaviour so that pupils are able to concentrate in lessons and feel safe around school.”

The watchdog rated “the quality of education” at the school as “requires improvement”. Its verdict on “behaviour and attitudes” was “inadequate” and pupils’ “personal development” was also graded “inadequate”.

Ofsted said that the “sixth form provision” was “good” – the second highest of four grades – but the school’s “leadership and management” was “inadequate”, as was its “overall effectiveness”.

The school was rated “good” at its previous inspection in late 2016 although inspections in December 2012 and December 2014 found that the school required improvement.

A report published in January 2015 said that there was too much low-level disruption in lessons which was not tackled effectively.

It added: “Some students do not take note of the academy’s clear message that using the word ‘gay’ as an insult is not acceptable.”

A new principal, Jack Davies, is due to start next month, after the half-term holiday.

BACA has 873 pupils aged 11 to 19, and of those there are 155 in the sixth form.

In the new report Ofsted highlighted the “extensive range of sporting activities available”, adding: “The school benefits from its partnership with Sussex Cricket Club.

“All pupils receive good careers guidance. Increasing numbers proceed to post-16 education and approximately one third of sixth form students go on to university.”

The school has apologised following the report and outlined plans to improve.