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School Pupils ‘under influence of drugs’

At West Yorkshire school, a school where students excluded from other schools go, inspectors noticed that students were coming to school intoxicated and were rolling cigarettes while in class.

Ofsted inspectors rated The Ummid Independent School as “inadequate”. The school has two locations in Bradford and another one in Halifax. In the report, they stated that these changes must be made “as a matter of urgency”.

Two of the school’s locations were closed and a review was launched.

The private school’s website stated that they provided long-term and short-term placements to children of secondary-school age who had social, learning, emotional and behavioural problems and “whose needs cannot be met in a mainstream setting”.

There are 31 students, according to Ofsted and they are charged anywhere from £50 and £185 daily.

Inadequate In Every Area

The school was rated as inadequate in every area, with the biggest concerns being the safety of the students, their behaviour as well as the quality of teaching.

The report pointed out that the required safety check on the adults to ensure that they are qualified to work with these kinds of students were not done.

The report also noted that there weren’t enough staff members with first aid training and in proper fire evacuation procedures.

At one of the Bradford locations, the report stated that in terms of behaviour, this location is making “stronger progress” and the self-esteem and self-confidence are improving.

But, they also said that a number of students were not behaving well and the overall attendance is not up to par.

Some students only had classes in math and English due to a shortage in staff the report pointed out.

It added that the independent school standards requirements are not being met with this restricted curriculum and it limits the progress of the students.

The Halifax location was closed by the board immediately after the report came out and it also temporarily closed one of the Bradford schools. They also stated that they are reviewing their future educational offerings.

In the statement, they said immediate action was taken when they were notified and they now have a clearer vision of the standards.

They are looking to make bigger investments to ensure they provide a service that both the students, their parents/guardians and teachers will be proud of.

Finding a School Drug Test

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Photo Credit: “Project 365 #64: 050309 Didn’t They Do W” (Public Domain) by comedy_nose