LIPA School

LIPA School Upper Duke Street, Liverpool, Merseyside L1 7BT

p.1

inspection report:

At the most recent graded inspection, the following areas were identified as needing to improve:

p.1

inspection report:

 The trust has not taken effective action to stabilise the recent turbulence in the leadership and wider staffing at the school. Consequently, leaders and staff are stretched beyond capacity. This has led to high staff absence and a lack of continuity for pupils. Pupils and staff have suffered as a result. The trust must take urgent action to stabilise the staffing at the school and provide much needed capacity at leadership level so that all aspects of the school’s provision improve rapidly.  The roles and responsibilities of those responsible for governance lack definition. The trust has not held the school to account for the decline in the quality of education that pupils receive. As a result, children in the early years and pupils across the rest of the school, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and disadvantaged pupils, do not achieve well. The trust must ensure that it gains an

p.1

inspection report:

accurate insight into the school’s effectiveness so that it can provide the necessary support and challenge to aid its improvement.  Safeguarding arrangements are not effective. The systems to check pupils’ safety and well-being when they are absent from school are not followed as set out in the school’s policy. This means that the school does not have oversight of where these pupils are, which puts them at risk of harm. The trust must take immediate action to ensure that there is capacity in the attendance team to follow the attendance policies and keep pupils safe.  The curriculum across the school lacks ambition and does not prepare pupils sufficiently well for each stage of their education. In the early years, children do not build the foundations that they need to be successful in Year 1. The school must ensure that it designs and implements a suitably coherent and ambitious curriculum, including in the

p.1

inspection report:

early years, so that children and pupils make a strong start to their education.  The activities that staff design to teach the curriculum do not help pupils to develop sufficient depth of knowledge about the subjects that they study. This prevents different groups of pupils from achieving well. The school must equip staff to deliver the Monitoring Inspection report: LIPA School, 2 and 3 June 2026 2 curriculum successfully so that pupils can build on what they know and deepen their learning over time.  The school has not ensured that staff adapt teaching to meet the needs of pupils with SEND. As a result, these pupils become disengaged and do not achieve as well as they should. The school should ensure that staff are equipped with suitable strategies to support pupils with SEND so that these pupils learn all that they should.  Staff do not routinely rectify gaps and misconceptions in pupils’ knowledge. They lack

p.1

inspection report:

clarity about how to make checks on what pupils remember. This means that pupils move on to new learning before they are ready. Pupils are not prepared sufficiently well for each year or stage of their education. The school should ensure that staff address pupils’ errors and misunderstandings promptly so that pupils build their knowledge securely.  The school has not established consistently high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. In lessons and around the school, the poor behaviour of some pupils, at times, goes unnoticed and unchallenged by staff. This hinders the learning of others and makes pupils feel unsafe. The school should clarify the expectations that it has about pupils’ behaviour and ensure that staff receive the support that they need to address any incidents. This is to make sure that pupils are safe and can learn in a positive environment.  The programme to support pupils’ personal development is ineffective. It is not coherent

p.2

inspection report:

or valued by many pupils. As a result, some groups of pupils do not understand how to treat each other with respect. The school must ensure that the programme to support pupils’ personal development is fit for purpose and supports pupils to develop a clear understanding of how to treat each other in modern Britain.

p.2

continued work is needed to remove the special measures designation

HMCI strongly recommends that the school does not seek to appoint early career teachers. The position regarding the appointment of early career teachers will be considered again during any further monitoring inspection we carry out.

p.2

continued work is needed to remove the special measures designation

During the monitoring inspection, the inspector focused on the following evaluation area:  Safeguarding

p.2

Safeguarding

At the previous graded inspection, safeguarding was not effective. During this monitoring inspection, there was considerable uncertainty about the school’s future. The trust, in conjunction with the Department for Education and the local authority, began the process to close the school. This understandably brought about significant anxiety for staff, pupils, parents and carers. Nevertheless, leaders have acted with integrity and kept pupils’ wellbeing foremost. The trust has supported the school to strengthen its culture of safeguarding. It commissioned an external review of safeguarding practices at the school and ensured that leaders acted on its recommendations. There are now effective and Monitoring Inspection report: LIPA School, 2 and 3 June 2026 3 secure arrangements to keep pupils safe, including by making regular contact with those who are absent from school and the small number who attend alternative provision.

p.2

Safeguarding

Furthermore, leaders’ renewed expectations about how pupils conduct themselves have quickly become the norm for pupils. For instance, pupils willingly hand in their mobile phones to staff as they arrive each morning. These routines are helping to facilitate a safer and happier atmosphere in the school.

p.3

Safeguarding

Leaders and staff are knowledgeable and vigilant about any signs that pupils may be at risk of harm. They keep comprehensive records of any concerns and use this information to make timely and appropriate referrals to secure additional help for pupils who need it. Furthermore, aspects of the school’s premises which were not previously conducive to pupils’ safety and welfare have been addressed. Leaders have taken sensible steps to enhance site security and supervision. These have led to a safer and more orderly start and end to the school day.

p.3

Safeguarding

Leaders and staff at all levels take their safeguarding responsibilities seriously. Leaders work in close partnership with external agencies such as the local authority. Furthermore, the trust has ensured that skilled and experienced educational professionals have provided effective support to the school. This has enabled school leaders to make sound and transparent decisions in the best interests of pupils’ wellbeing and safety. Pupils are safe at this school.

p.3

Safeguarding

Other aspects of the school’s provision, such as those relating to the curriculum, teaching and achievement, were not considered as part of this monitoring inspection.

p.3

Additional next steps

Leaders and trustees should continue to work to address the priorities for improvement identified in the last graded inspection report.

p.3

About this inspection

The inspector carried out this monitoring inspection under section 8(2) of the Education Act 2005, and it was the first monitoring inspection since the school was judged to require special measures following the graded inspection that took place in June 2025.

p.3

About this inspection

The inspection started on 2 June 2026. It was paused in line with Ofsted inspections and visits: Deferring, pausing and gathering additional evidence policy. The inspector returned on 3 June 2026 to complete the inspection.

p.3

About this inspection

The school’s previous inspection was carried out under the Education Inspection Framework (EIF) at that time. The renewed EIF took effect from 10 November 2025. The areas for improvement identified at the school’s graded inspection have been cross- referenced to the relevant evaluation areas in the inspection toolkit for consideration on this monitoring inspection. Monitoring Inspection report: LIPA School, 2 and 3 June 2026 4 The purpose of this monitoring inspection was not to determine grades for any of the evaluation areas set out in the school inspection toolkit. The purpose was to identify and report on the school’s progress in addressing priorities for improvement since the school’s previous inspection.

p.3

About this inspection

Since the previous inspection, the local governing body has been dissolved. There have been several new appointments to the senior leadership of the school and to the trust board, including a new chair of trustees. The trust also appointed an interim chief executive officer.

p.4

About this inspection

During this inspection, meetings were held with the headteacher and other senior leaders, a group of trustees including the chair of the trust board, representatives of the local authority and an improvement adviser who is supporting the school. This was to discuss the actions that have been taken to improve the school since the most recent graded inspection.

p.4

applicable)

No Monitoring Inspection report: LIPA School, 2 and 3 June 2026 5 and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked- after-children, safeguarding and child protection.

p.4

applicable)

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

p.5

applicable)

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/ , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.5

applicable)

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.5

applicable)

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: http://www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.5