St Aidan’s ‘inadequate’ rating prompts debate over its handling of bullying

The release of Ofsted‘s report giving St Aidan’s an ‘inadequate’ rating prompted heavy debate on social media with some agreeing the school needed to improve and others defending it.

The inspection led the Harrogate high school to drop from ‘outstanding’, which it received at its previous inspection in 2006, to the lowest of four possible ratings.

Parents, locals and former students took to social media to give their views on the report’s findings.

Claims bullying wasn’t dealt with proactively 

One comment that was raised by multiple people was bullying at the school, some claimed it often wasn’t dealt with effectively.

One former student, Caitlin Nicole Chang, attended the school between 2004-2011 and said:

“Whilst I am saddened to learn St Aiden’s has been rated inadequate, I was not surprised that the school was let down by its safeguarding measures.

“I was severely bullied and racially abused by one girl whilst at St Aiden’s. When I reported this to the head of year, she got banned from our form room, however the school continued to put me in the same classes as her for a large majority of my subjects. Where was the safeguarding there? Unfortunately, the bullying did not stop, I called her a racist. The head of year said “you can’t just go around accusing people of racism”. Here I was, a young girl, crying for being racially abused, and getting told off for calling the girl who was racist towards me, a racist. I believe if I went to the headteacher, something would have been done.”

This was echoed by another former student, Max Prudames, he said:

“I’m not surprised by St Aidans Ofsted report. Many of my friends and I dealt with bullying during our entire time there and nothing was done about it. It also felt like since many of the bullies took part in representing the school in sports, nothing was done against them since it was ruin the schools image.”

In the report, released yesterday, Ofsted said all pupils inspectors spoke to said bullying was dealt with but on a survey some parents and pupils disagreed.

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A “fantastic school”

However, not all people agreed with the ‘inadequate’ rating. Josephine Mary said the rating would not stop her sending her child to school there:

“The school is a calm, safe and supportive place. They have great support for those with extra needs and have massively supported deaf children in the past. I believe that as Ofsted haven’t been for many years nearly 15 years that the school has had not as much practice in keeping up with records and with the Ofsted requirements.”

Mo Burn agreed adding her granddaughter was enjoying her time at St Aidans:

“My granddaughter has been doing her A-Levels at this school and I think it is a fantastic school. Every school has its faults and problems. She has had fantastic results and the support, care and understanding she has had from her teachers was first class.”

Bubble tea phenomenon comes to Harrogate

Harrogate might be famous around the world for its tea, but a new kid on the block called bubble tea has arrived with the opening of Sweet Pearl House on Commercial Street.

Bubble tea originated in Taiwan and has gone on to become one of the nation’s best-loved and most recognisable exports with takeaway cafes in cities across the UK.

The drink blends a milk or fruit tea base before the signature “bubbles” are added. The bubbles are made from chewy tapioca pearls, also called boba, that sit at the bottom.

Bubble tea is particularly popular among teenagers and is sucked through an especially large straw, which has enough room to hoover up the bubbles.

The family-run Sweet Pearl House was opened last week by Candy Yip and her husband Man Wong. The couple and their daughter moved to Harrogate from Hong Kong last year.

Ms Yip said she spotted a gap in the market and wanted to share their love of bubble tea as well as traditional Hong Kong egg waffle snacks.

“I think Harrogate loves tea, but I didn’t see any bubble tea places here.

“We love drinking tea so much. We opened the shop to share popular Taiwan tea and Hong Kong traditional eggettes snacks culture to people in Harrogate.”

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Sweet Pearl House offers customers different milk or fruit tea bases, including brown sugar milk, strawberry, matcha, jasmine and oolong.

These are combined with fruity toppings including peach, passion fruit and mango, which are served with the tapioca bubbles.

Pearl Sweet House

Most of the drinks can be served hot or cold. Opening hours are from 11.30am to 5.30pm Tuesday to Saturday and from 10.30am to 4.30pm on Sundays.

Almost all the ingredients are imported from Taiwan directly, which Ms Yip says ensures their drinks have the authentic bubble tea taste. 

She added:

“The bubble milk tea is a unique taste. There really is no other drink like it.”

Two people wanted following burglary at Harrogate jewellers

North Yorkshire Police has put out an appeal for information following a burglary at a jewellers in Harrogate town centre.

At 2.30am on Friday last week, Browns Family Jewellers on Beulah Street was broken into.

Police said today they were keen to hear from anyone with information, especially in relation to two people seen on bikes around Station Parade and Beulah Street.

Police are also keen to find the owner of a large black ratchet jack, a tool often used to lift heavy equipment, that was left at the scene.

It is not yet known the value of the items taken.

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To give information, call North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2, and ask for 1523 or email James.Skaith@northyorkshire.police.uk.

To remain anonymous call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

The crime reference number is 12220003179.

Harrogate Discount Store to close this month

A discount shop which has operated in Harrogate for the last two years is set to close its doors at the end of the month.

The Harrogate Discount Store took on prime retail space on James Street on a temporary basis after Next moved to the Victoria Shopping Centre.

It will close on Tuesday, January 25 but the owners hope to find smaller premises elsewhere in the town centre.

The company moved in when the landlord wanted a business to fill the space while seeking planning permission for a renovation.

Harrogate Borough Council approved the renovation works, which include refurbishment of the shop front and the addition of separate access for the upper floors of the building, in December.

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In the planning documents, the landlord said the proposal would improve the chances of attracting a “quality long-term tenant”.

Gavin Broadbent, who runs the Harrogate Discount Store with another employee on behalf of the owners, told the Stray Ferret:

“As far as I am aware, the landlord just needs the place back. We were only meant to be here for three months but that was two years ago.

“We have been on a rolling deal and have done quite well out of the place. We have been really busy so we are going to try and find somewhere a bit smaller in a couple of months.

“It has been great. We have really built it up to be quite well liked. It might not be everybody’s cup of tea being on a posh street in the middle of Harrogate but people like a bargain.”

Harrogate charity beer festival to return in March

The Harrogate and District RoundTable Charity Beer Festival will return to the town’s Crown Hotel on March 11 and 12.

The 32nd edition of the festival will offer over 40 cask ales and 10 keg beers as well as ciders, wine, Prosecco and gin.

The festival has raised over £500,000 for local charities since it began in 1990. This year it will be supporting Samaritans and Martin House Hospice.

The event was cancelled last year due to covid.

Posting on its Facebook page, Harrogate RoundTable said:

“Let’s band together, say “Cheers!” and support our community.”

If you’re interested in tickets and wristbands for the festival, visit its website.

The RoundTable is an association of men between the ages of 18 and 45 that supports local causes.

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Harrogate district taxi drivers call for 5% fare increase

Harrogate district taxi drivers are calling for a 5% increase in taxi fares to help cover soaring fuel prices and a decline in earnings due to covid.

“Please help us” is one of several messages sent from taxi drivers to Harrogate Borough Council, which will hold a licensing meeting on Wednesday next week to consider the request.

It comes after 2021 saw record costs for both petrol and diesel in the UK, with diesel hitting prices of over £1.50 per litre for the first time in history.

Local cabbies also said rises in vehicle prices and parts and the climbing cost of living had contributed to them asking for a fare increase.

One taxi driver told the council:

“It is sometimes very difficult to strike the correct balance between what is a reasonable fare increase and keeping our loyal customers happy.

“That said, we have witnessed in the past six months an increase of more than 30% in our fuel costs alone and there is a lot of talk that fuel could reach £2 per litre by mid 2022.”

Another said:

“Since the pandemic there has been a huge increase in customers paying by card which attracts card reader fees. Due to card payments there has also been a very significant loss of tips.”

The request from taxi drivers is for a 5% rise on the running mile and waiting times of journeys, as well as an increase in starting prices £3.40 to £3.60.

Harrogate district taxis among the most expensive

According to national trade newspaper Private Hire and Taxi Monthly, the Harrogate district is currently ranked as the 31st most expensive council area in the UK, charging £7 at 2 miles.

And if approved, the proposed 5% rise would move the district to 14th in the table.

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However, taxi drivers have argued Harrogate’s position is not as high for journeys above the two-mile mark.

In November, there were warnings that as many as 50 taxi drivers in the district had quit during the previous lockdowns and that many have now found new jobs with little desire to return to the trade.

This came shortly before the council froze taxi licence fees for the second year running due to the impacts of the pandemic.

Speaking at the time, Gareth Bentley, licensing manager at Harrogate Borough Council, said:

“Whether we will get a new set of drivers coming to replace the 50 we have lost – only time will tell.”

Low response to consultation

Mr Bentley said in a report to next Wednesday’s meeting that a consultation on the proposed fare increase had been held with 500 taxi drivers, although the response rate was low with only 30 drivers taking part.

He also said while the council’s licensing committee would consider the rise request at the meeting, it would be the cabinet member for housing and safer communities, councillor Mike Chambers, who would make the final decision.

Mr Bentley added:

“The setting of fares is a statutory duty placed upon the council and it is the council’s responsibility to strike a balance between setting a fare that is acceptable to the customer and to the taxi driver.”

Harrogate’s Crimple appoints executive chef

Harrogate’s newly-renovated Crimple has appointed a new executive chef.

Tim Kitchen started his first head chef role in 2013 at D&D in Leeds and has worked in various venues across Yorkshire since.

Mr Kitchen has moved to Harrogate from Skipton’s Keelham Farm Shop — a success story Crimple is keen to replicate.

This new chef joins shortly after Crimple, previously known as Crimple Hall, completed a £6 million investment. It now has a 20,000 square foot food hall, 150-seat restaurant and private events space plus a garden centre and gift hall,

The food hall has an in-house bakery, 12-metre butcher’s counter and chef-cooked ready meals. All the food and produce is locally sourced and fresh.

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Graham Watson, the owner of Crimple, said:

‘”We are incredibly excited to bring Tim aboard the Crimple team. We’re passionate about supporting local and can’t wait for Tim to weave his creativity and passion into our menus.

“With late night dining launching imminently and a big focus on private events in 2022, there’s lots to do but with Tim at the helm we know the food will triumph.”

Mr Kitchen added:

“I’m looking forward to this next chapter in my culinary journey.

“With all the buzz around the re-launch of Crimple I can’t wait to get started.

“I am truly excited about the opportunity to meet customers and help make their dining experience unforgettable.”

Tesco consultation results reveal support for new Harrogate store

Tesco has revealed the results of a consultation it held for a planned new supermarket on Harrogate’s Skipton Road.

The supermarket giant has lodged proposals to Harrogate Borough Council for a new store, five years after pulling out of a similar development.

If given the go-ahead, it would be built on the former gasworks at New Park and would include a 38,795 square feet store and a petrol filling station.

Tesco held an online consultation about the plans last year and the results have now been released.

According to documents submitted by the company to the council, 187 people responded. Of those, 74% said they wanted to see the derelict site brought back into use.

A total of 62% said they supported proposals for a new Tesco supermarket at the site.

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However, the consultation also saw people raise concerns about the development.

Sixteen respondents “expressed concern that providing access via a roundabout was inappropriate due to the existing roundabout at Skipton Road / Ripon Road”.

A total of 43 respondents also raised the issue of highways and traffic on the local area.

The issue of traffic has been raised by cycle groups, which have accused Tesco of “greenwashing” over claims about reduced car journeys.

Traffic concerns

Tesco has harboured ambitions for a new store in the town for almost 20 years. The retailer previously had plans approved in 2009, but pulled out after opposition from local traders.

Although many people have welcomed the prospect of a new supermarket in the north of Harrogate, some are concerned about the impact of extra traffic on what is already a busy area, plus access to the site.

However, the company has said in transport documents submitted to the council that the site would see fewer car journeys than under previous plans.

The document says that the store would attract a total of 908 fewer car journeys on a weekday peak time and 522 on a weekend compared with its previous application.

Tesco has said there are no “transport-related reasons” to turn the proposal down.

It added:

“This transport assessment has demonstrated that the development proposals will result in a decrease in the number of trips generated by the site compared to the extant permission for the A1 Tesco superstore.”

Harrogate competitive festival returns seeking new competitors

The Harrogate Competitive Festival for Music, Speech and Drama is set to return this year after a break due to covid.

The festival, which featured nearly 2,000 competitors when it was last held in full in 2019, will run over three weekends in March. The deadline for submitting entries is this Saturday.

Previous winners have gone on to perform in West End shows and compete in BBC Young Musician and BBC Radio 2 Chorister of the Year.

This year, young champions of music, speech and drama have the added incentive of a £250 prize and an invitation to a residential course in their respective disciplines.

The competition was cut short in 2020 by the first national lockdown and was cancelled in 2021.

With nearly 200 different categories to enter, festival chairman Paul Dutton hopes there is something for everyone this year:

“We have missed being part of Harrogate’s cultural legacy, it is one of the most prestigious arts events in Harrogate but, this year we are back with a bang. We really don’t want people to miss this opportunity to be part of our amazing festival.”

Paul Dutton

Paul Dutton

The festival began in 1936 as a music competition run by the borough council and a voluntary committee. Since then, the categories have expanded into speech and drama and the festival is now run entirely by volunteers as a registered charity.

The festival will take place at Harrogate High School over the first three weekends of March.

Further information is available here and hard copies of the syllabus can be found at local music shops and libraries.

 

St Aidan’s school in Harrogate rated ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted

St Aidan’s Church of England High School in Harrogate has been rated inadequate by Ofsted in a report released to parents today.

The report is highly critical of the school’s leadership and management and says pupils are “at risk of harm”.

It says “leaders, including governors and trustees, have an overgenerous view of the school’s performance” and “because of this, governors and trustees have not held leaders effectively to account for the impact of their work”.

These concerns prompted government inspectors to give the school the lowest of four possible ratings in its first assessment since the school became an academy under the Yorkshire Causeway Schools Trust in 2012.

St Aidan’s was rated ‘outstanding’ at its last inspection in 2006.

Chris Ives, acting headteacher, said he “strongly refutes” the inadequate judgment but added the school “will work to fully explore potential improvements” and has “put into place additional external assurance for the areas where inspectors raised serious concerns”.

‘Good’ in most areas

St Aidan’s was rated ‘good’ in four of the five areas assessed during September’s two-day visit. They were: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development and sixth form provision.

But its ‘inadequate’ grading for leadership and management meant it automatically achieved the same overall outcome.

The report says:

“Leaders have not put effective arrangements in place to safeguard pupils. Some staff do not understand the range of safeguarding risks that pupils may face, or their responsibilities to take action to protect pupils.

“Leaders have not taken timely action when pupils are vulnerable to harm. The school’s curriculum does not support pupils to develop an appropriate understanding of the safeguarding risks they may face beyond the school.

“These shortcomings in the safeguarding culture at St Aidan’s put pupils at risk of harm.”

The report, which will be put on Ofsted’s website this week, added that inspectors “identified gaps in the recruitment checks made on staff”.

It said “a few parents and some pupils who responded to Ofsted’s surveys do not feel that bullying is managed well”.

And it also said “leaders do not undertake appropriate checks on sixth-form work experience providers to ensure their suitability for students” or “consistently follow statutory guidance when there are incidents of peer-on-peer abuse”.

The school’s response

Chris Ives, acting headteacher, said the trust and the school knew it would be a “challenging inspection” because it was so long since the last one and Ofsted had recently recalibrated its outstanding gradings.

“That being said, the inspectors praised many aspects of school life, including the superb behaviour of pupils, the staff expertise, the overall quality of education and the wonderful opportunities available to all our pupils. Thank you and well done to all in our brilliant St Aidan’s community.

“The team of inspectors, however, felt that St Aidan’s approach to safeguarding was, in some areas, not consistently in line with best practice.

“Although leaders provided the inspection team with evidence in support of the school’s procedures and processes and were able to demonstrate that those measures were effective, the inspection team was not satisfied and drew the conclusion that St. Aidan’s pupils might be at an increased risk.

“Whilst we all strongly refute the inadequate judgement, we cannot ignore the concerns that have been raised. As always, we will work to fully explore potential improvements and we always implement advice that will help us continue to provide care that is of the highest level.

“The trust and school leaders have also put into place additional external assurance for the areas where inspectors raised serious concerns.

“The overall grade is deeply disappointing, and one that we are saddened by. What we find most difficult is that our students were a credit to themselves and our community throughout the whole process. Our staff shone in their classrooms, and our parents and carers couldn’t have done more to support the school.

“We genuinely feel that St Aidan’s is a blessing to be part of – which is why the overall grade sits at such odds with everything we experience on a day-to-day basis. We will, of course, respond fully to the report and build on all our strengths with pace and purpose so that the next Ofsted inspection fully reflects all that we believe is true about St Aidan’s.”

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Praise for teachers

More than 300 parents and carers shared their views of the school with the inspectors as part of the inspection. 98% said their child was happy, 96% said they would recommend the school to others and 99% said their child felt safe at St. Aidan’s.

Ofsted highlighted the positive relationships between pupils and staff, the high expectations for pupils’ academic achievements as well as the calm and purposeful atmosphere around the school. It also praised teachers’ “strong subject knowledge” and passion for their subjects.

Jo Wicks, chair of governors, said:

“It would be fair to say that the overall outcome of our inspection is highly unusual, and fills us with a mixture of pride, bitter disappointment and exasperation in equal measures.

“This is not the judgement we were expecting. We simply do not think it is right to spend significant time and effort on what would be an expensive legal process, and think it is important that the community see the report as soon as we have been permitted to publish it.”

This grading means the school will be subject to more frequent Ofsted visits and will have to publish an action plan detailing how it will respond to the concerns.

The school, which caters for students aged 11 to 18, has about 2,000 pupils in the high school and sixth form.

Ofsted ratings for high schools elsewhere in the district