A PARENT is calling on the Department for Education to close a school in Rossendale following its latest Ofsted inspection.

Lisa Settle, 34, who lives in Stacksteads, has sent a letter to Education Secretary Damian Hinds to take action against ‘failing’ secondary school Fearns Community Sports College, in Stacksteads, following years of ‘underperforming’.

The call comes after the school’s recent Ofsted inspection in December in which the staff were told to improve the performance and behaviour of the students following its ‘inadequate’ rating.

The inspection was the first since May 2016, after it had been placed in special measures in 2014, which is when Ofsted consider a school to have fallen short of acceptable education standards.

In the recent Ofsted report, published in January, the inspector said leaders and managers were not taking effective action towards the removal of special measures and have told school leaders to take ‘urgent steps’ to tackle underperformance of Years 10 and 11.

The inspector said in the report: “There remains a woeful lack of challenge for most-able pupils and are too often assigned unimaginative tasks that they can complete with little intellectual effort.”

Lisa said she was ‘devastated’ after her 11-year-old son was allocated a place for this September because there were no other available places in the catchment area.

The 34-year-old mother said: “There is not a chance he is going to this school. I will home school him before I allow him to attend that school.

“The school has been in special measures for four years and any assistance has failed. It’s not turned into an academy and I can’t see what more can be done about it.”

The recent report comes after the Department for Education revealed that only six per cent of students from the school received a grade five or above in English and maths GCSEs, compared to the local authority average of 42.80 per cent in 2017.

Lancashire County Council, has said it ‘firmly’ intends to support the school. Cllr Susie Charles, cabinet member for schools, said: “I’d like to reassure everyone of the county council’s firm intention to support the school to provide the best education possible for all pupils.

“I understand how anxious parents feel if their child doesn’t get a place at one of their preferred schools and I’d like to reassure parents that school places are allocated fairly and objectively.

“We are already taking steps to raise standards of achievement and are working very closely with the headteacher, senior staff and governors to help them to achieve these improvements.

“We are confident that these actions, including improving and monitoring standards of performance at the school, are proving successful and that progress is being made.

“Reassuringly, this improvement has also been confirmed by HMI, following a visit to the school.”