Curriculum-focused Ofsted fails to mention two subjects not being taught at Tory peer’s academy

Inspectors rated an academy, controlled by a Conservative peer, as good –without mentioning that it does not teach two national curriculum subjects.

Churchill Gardens, part of the Future Academies chain in Pimlico, central London, was given Ofsted’s second-top rating despite not teaching either computing or design and technology.

Although since 2019 Ofsted has had a particular focus on the curriculum, these gaps were not mentioned in the school’s latest report. As Education Uncovered has reported in the past, the conservative curriculum focus of Lord and Lady Nash, the couple who control Future as founding members and trustees, appears to have driven its schools’ lack of teaching of technology.

This is actually the second time that Ofsted has visited the school and not reported on it not teaching at least one national curriculum subject, though this is the first instance of this having happened within a full inspection report, rather than one following a shorter inspection.

Meanwhile, Churchill Gardens staff were said to feel well-supported by the central trust, the report found – without stating that teachers had unanimously voted in favour of strike action during the last academic year, when the inspection happened.

The detail