A secondary school in Erith is set to be renamed following an inspection by Ofsted which initially rated it as “inadequate”.

King Henry School, in Avenue Road, was originally given the rating after a two-day inspection in May 2022.

Schools are rated in four categories: outstanding, good, requires improvement, and inadequate.

At the time, it was rated inadequate for quality of education, behaviour of pupils, and leadership as pupils were frequently missing from lessons.

Following the inspection, it was formally agreed the Erith school will be re-brokered from Odyssey Trust for Education to Leigh Academies Trust. 

The education watchdog revisited the school during a monitoring visit on December 6, focusing on safeguarding.

It found that it remains inadequate and requires special measures.

Despite the rating, the visit found that safeguarding was effective and that leaders are “confident” it will no longer be inadequate at the next inspection.

The trust confirmed that King Henry School will finalise joining the trust in April and the school’s name will change to Leigh Academy Bexley.

It hopes that the new name will appeal to parents and students, which represents “a fresh start” for the school.

A new logo will be introduced, which represents “a proud” stag watching over its child, that has been inspired by the Bexley Borough Council logo.

The logo is also a metaphor for how Leigh Academies Trust will help guide and protect the school within the changing process.

The Erith school has confirmed the trust will be investing in the school by completing an overhaul of the IT network infrastructure.

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Pupils will also be issued their own Chromebooks at no cost to families which will enable them to access the curriculum at school and at home.

The school will be joining “a strong network” of schools, such as Leigh Academy Blackheath, which was recently judged to be outstanding in every category by Ofsted, as stated by the trust.

Simon Beamish, CEO of Leigh Academy Trust, said he is determined to transform the school and that Leigh Academy will represent a brand new chapter.

He explained: “We will invest heavily in the current and next generation of pupils who attend Leigh Academy Bexley.

“With regard to the new name and its impact on uniform pupils will continue to wear their existing uniform until the end of the academic year.

“From September the new pupil uniform will be launched. All new branded uniform items for pupils currently in years 7-10 will be fully funded by LAT and will be implemented at no additional cost to parents.”