The college has received an 'inadequate' grade by Ofsted
Education inspectors claim there is a “worryingly high proportion” of sexual incidents between students at a Coventry college.
Ofsted have rated Hereward College “inadequate” after the inspection last December - just 18 months after the college in Bramston Crescent, Tile Hill, was rated “good”.
Hereward is a college for young people with complex disabilities and learning difficulties, and has facilities for both day and residential students.
In their most recent report, inspectors said a “worryingly high proportion of incidents involve sexualised behaviour, and in some cases sexual assaults by one learner on another”.
Inspectors said that school leaders did not have the ability to tackle the issues.
They wrote: “Leaders do not have a sufficiently wide range of strategies to tackle this endemic issues.”
However, despite the issues, the inspections have led to staff members becoming more aware of the issue.
The report also said: “Leaders and managers now have a greater awareness that these incidents are occurring.”
The mother of one pupil at the college alleged that her child has been the subject of inappropriate sexual behaviour.
She said: “It was with another student that these incidents were happening with my child.
“My child and myself were reporting this to staff on several occasions but it was never recorded, or looked into.
“These types of incidents have been reported by Ofsted but they have not made any progress.”
The Ofsted report states that since the inspection, safeguarding leaders have appointed a new safeguarding manager who was taking over the post in January.
The report has stated that in order to improve staff will have to develop the curriculum relating to safeguarding, personal, social and health education and sex and relationships education.
Hereward College has been contacted for comment.
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