Yorkshire schools told to improve or lose funding

The government has threatened to withdraw funding from three Yorkshire schools following poor Ofsted ratings.

Thrybergh Academy in Rotherham, Enrich Academy in Wakefield and Beckfoot Thornton in Bradford all received warnings from the Department for Education (DfE) after they were found to be in need of "significant improvement".

The schools were given Ofsted's lowest rating during their latest inspections according to Alison Wilson, regional director for Yorkshire and the Humber, with Beckfoot Thornton put into special measures.

In a letter to John Winkley, chair of trustees at Beckfoot Trust, Wilson said there were fears for student and staff safety at the academy trust's Thornton school.

"The safeguarding concerns noted leaders' failure to establish an effective safeguarding culture and to deal appropriately with child-on-child violence, bullying and wider pupil and staff safety issues," she said.

Termination Warning Notices are issued to schools that are found to require "significant improvement" by Ofsted.

It does not mean the school will shut down but does warn the leadership that if improvements are not made the government may stop funding it and transfer the school to a different academy trust.

A spokesperson for Beckfoot Trust said it had requested to transfer Thornton to Delta Academies Trust, which had been approved by the DfE and was expected to go ahead in early 2027.

"As much as we will be very sad to see Thornton leave our trust, we are sure that given the capacity and resource needed, Delta is the right trust going forward.

"We are working openly and transparently with unions and keeping our families up to date of ongoing changes," they said.

During an Ofsted assessment in July, Thrybergh Academy was found to be in need of urgent improvement for achievement and attendance but met the required safeguarding standards.

"In recent years, too many pupils have left Year 11 lacking the knowledge, skills or qualifications they need for their next steps in education," inspectors said.

"Too many pupils do not attend school often enough. This means that they miss out on valuable learning."

Wickersley Partnership Trust, which runs the school, was contacted for comment.

Writing to Ethos Academy Trust board chair Lloyd Nolan, Wilson said Enrich Academy needed to significantly increase attendance rates, improve behaviour and basic skills in reading, writing and maths.

Enrich is an alternative school for year 10 and 11 pupils – aged 14 to 16 – and many of the students have been excluded or are on a break from their mainstream school.

Its most recent Ofsted inspection in June found attendance rates at the school were "critically low" and the number of pupil suspensions was "very high", but aspects of the school's work had recently started to improve.

A statement from the CEO Matthew Knox and chair of trustees, Nolan, said it had "secured significant improvement" in the last six months.

"Both the trustees and the executive team at Ethos Academies Trust remain resolute in their commitment to Enrich and unequivocal in their belief that, with continued support and the implementation of our improvement strategy, the academy can and will provide the high-quality education that its pupils deserve," they said.

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