Two Basildon academies placed into special measures

Two academy schools in Essex are to be placed into special measures, as they are failing to give "an acceptable standard of education".

An Ofsted report said The Basildon Upper and Lower Academies, which opened in 2009, were both inadequate in all five areas of inspection.

It said whilst some radical steps had been taken, they were not showing "sufficient capacity to improve".

The academy trust has yet to comment on the report.

The two schools are part of the Basildon Academies Trust, which replaced the old Chalvedon and Barstable schools.

They share the same principal, who has been in place since last September.

In its report of an inspection in March, Ofsted graded both as "inadequate" for pupils' achievement, behaviour and safety, the quality of teaching and leadership and management.

It said attainment at the Basildon Lower Academy, for pupils between 11 and 14, was "consistently well below average" and students' behaviour was "not managed consistently".

The report added whilst steps had been taken since September 2011 to improve teaching standards, its "vision to improve practice" was "not fully shared and understood by all staff".

The Ofsted report on the Basildon Upper Academy, for 14 to 19 year-olds, said improvements made since a previous report in March 2011 - which had raised "serious concerns" - were fragile.

Despite some progress over the past two years, it found there was a "considerable variation in the quality of teaching", attainment remained low and students' progress was inadequate.

As academies the schools are not under Essex County Council control.

The authority said it was "aware of the issues" but had limited powers to intervene.