A boarding school where fees cost up to £55,000-a-year has been warned it is failing to meet standards relating to pupils’ ‘physical and emotional wellbeing’, MailOnline can reveal.
An inspection of Uppingham School, in Leicestershire, concluded the elite establishment fell woefully short of the standards and did not meet three out of five of the inspector’s criteria.
During a two-and-a-half day inspection, it was also found that the school fell short when it came to pupils’ ‘physical and mental health’ as well as ’emotional wellbeing’ and ‘safeguarding’.
School bosses have also been warned that standards relating to ‘leadership and management and governance’ are also not all being met – as inspectors issued recommendations to stamp out poor behaviour.
Regarding pupils’ ‘physical and mental health and emotional wellbeing’, a team of nine inspectors recorded poor behaviour from senior pupils towards younger students.
The report by the Independent Schools’ Inspectorate (ISI) said: ‘There have been incidences of poor behaviour by older pupils towards younger ones and those with protected characteristics, which relate to the culture of respect in the school.’
School leaders had not taken sufficient steps to ensure that policies and practices were being ‘implemented consistently to ensure that the culture of respect is consistently evident in pupils’ behaviour,’ the report said.
The strategies in place to strengthen the overall culture of respect were found not to have had ‘a demonstrable impact in all year groups’ or across the 15 student boarding houses.
An inspection of Uppingham School in Leicestershire (pictured) concluded the elite establishment did not meet three out of five of the inspector’s criteria
Pictured: Headmaster at Uppingham School, Dr Richard J Maloney
To remedy this, the school leaders were urged to take steps to ‘reduce poor behaviour by strengthening the culture of respect across the school’.
Fees for boarding students stand at £18,558 per term after VAT, with non-boarders paying £11,358.
This takes the annual fees for boarders to a staggering £55,674.
Just last year, the school was listed as one of the top 150 private schools in the world, as selected by global education consultancy Carfax Education.
Dr Richard J Maloney, headmaster at Uppingham School, said at the time: ‘I am pleased to know that our very strong boarding offering, commitment to holistic education and excellent results are recognised in the global context in this way.’
But the report from the same time frame also found that teachers failed to report pupils who joined or left the school at non-standard times to the relevant local authority, in accordance with statutory guidance.
And Uppingham School, which admits day and boarding pupils between the ages of 13 and 18, also failed to meet standards on leadership and governance and safeguarding.
Leaders and governors ‘do not demonstrate sufficient knowledge and oversight’ regarding the requirement to report students who do not show up at school or who leave early.
Failures were found in the treatment of children with special and educational needs or disabilities, of which the school has 102, with pupils ‘at times not supported in the ways suggested in lesson plans’.
This lead to pupils ‘achieving less well’ in these cases.
The inspecting body advised school leaders to bolster their system ensuring a culture of respect and apply appropriate strategies to support students with additional learning requirements.
The private school did meet the standards relating to the ‘quality of education, training and recreation’ as well as pupils’ ‘social and economic education and contribution to society’.
MailOnline has contacted Uppingham School for comment.
