Leeds West Academy

I'm currently a student at this school and I've been harasses by the teachers there trying to touch me and grab my arms. I've asked them politely to stop this and they won't, some times I have had to use my own force to get away from them and I have been put on planned interventions for physical assault. If your child need the assistance of a ta or nurture dont expect it to come quickly I've been waiting to come onto the nurture list for over 2 years and nothing has happened. This school is a horrible place and I have only mentioned 2 subjects. Please don't send your children here as leeds west doesn't care about pastoral management or what we learn. I've had my friends being dragged out of their classes from substitutes who don't know where they are going or what they're doing, they let kids see personal information about other kids on the computers in the rooms and don't follow any rules/policies. The only thing leeds west care about infact is the attendance everyone has as they get paid more money per student with a good attendance. If I could give 0 stars I would.

The school is horrible and the teachers always touch you without permission. There are lots of fights and verbal abuse a teacher has called me a tramp and other obscenities twice. I've only been at the school for 3 years and the pastoral care has not changed one bit. If I could give 0 I would don't send your kid here

Bullying mafia and teachers not helping.

As a teacher who taught at this school I found the experience concerning from an educational view point.
The management of challenging behaviour was inadequate as the pupils with challenging behaviour were not catered for. This led to disruption of lessons and a negative impact on learning.
The support of teachers was counter productive as any development was generally observations which focused on negative aspects and led to unbearable stress on many staff. Departments and subjects were often divided and a general toxic atmosphere exists.
Staff welfare was not properly and genuinely catered for. Superficial measures such as posters in staff rooms and staff toilets highlighting stress but staff suffering terribly. High staff turnover.
Parents need to look for alternatives as should staff.

I’m sure the teachers at this school must have detention targets to meets!!!! Absolute joke. No warnings or nothing straight to DT..

Do they then get taken out for a meal whoever hands out the most!?

Leeds west , isn’t the best of school they don’t helo with bullying or sexual assaults or anything. they also favourite some students. one time i got shouted at and they made me cry and everyone was watching, it was really embarrassing and i was in year 7 at the time, just because i didn’t walk with this person to school. i have to sit with my old friend who watches me change in the areas i feel uncomfortable and they haven’t don’t anything about it and they still carry on. and the school food is disgusting, my stomach hurt for days after.

The way that school deals with mental health is appalling and I’ve been allowed to slip into unhealthy mindsets that have ruined my high school experience. Here are just a few incidents I’ve been unfortunate enough to deal with attending here.

- I was involved in a situation where my friend had potentially tried to set me up with a man much older than me, and told me he was my age. I didn’t know at the time and only found out through the man’s facebook. A leader in safeguarding inferred it was my fault because ‘I responded to him’, and never bothered to comfort me and ask me if I was okay. She just told me I should be ‘more careful’ and sent me on my way with no additional support. Whether or not you think speaking to strangers online is dangerous or not, it is never the victim’s fault, and I’m appalled that it was ever implied I was at fault for this.

- The school does not care about racism, homophobia, sexism and classism no matter how much they claim to. I am familiar with people who have reported homophobic abuse and death threats simply due to their sexuality and the school has done nothing to stop these people who are actively attacking minorities. Their uniform policy is inherently classist with how strict it is, relying on students purchasing new uniform that can be £20+ otherwise the child is punished. Why should a student be penalised for not being able to afford uniform?

- Similarly, during Covid lockdowns, there were lessons being held once a week, including English lessons. The topic of these lessons was Black Lives Matter and the recent events regarding police brutality and George Floyd. There was an essay titled ‘All Lives Matter is a valid viewpoint: agree or disagree?’. This is a topic that is not up for debate. This is human rights, not some silly debate club topic. I find it disgusting that we were encouraged to make up statistics in order to convince readers that we shouldn’t stand for black lives, especially since every single person in that room was white. Furthermore, I was openly mocked for my opinions that racist statues should be torn down and teachers did nothing to stop this.

- The school has such little consideration for mental health. I came into school one day wearing winged eyeliner. I have worn winged eyeliner for three years and have never been told it’s not allowed or to take it off. However, one day an SLT member noticed it on me and told me to take it off. When she checked with first aiders if my eyeliner was suitable, I started to cry because I have severe self image and self esteem issues that make it difficult to leave the house without makeup and eyeliner. They accused me of throwing a tantrum which only made it worse, and I started to choke because I was sobbing so much from the thought of having to undo all the self love I’ve built for three years. They didn’t seem to care and just screamed at me to ‘calm down’, which naturally made me have a meltdown. They shoved water in my lap and did nothing else to help me calm down. The vice principal ignored my poor mental health and called me unprofessional and acted as if I was stupid. I was also threatened with isolation/ RLC (I barely ever get detentions and am an exemplary student and I was treated as if I was not). The whole day I felt vulnerable and disgusting because of what they had said to me and were completely insensitive. They were even rude to my parents over the phone and refused to accept any responsibility.

If you care about your child’s mental health, don’t send them here. It will likely do them no good.

This school is appalling! There is no social distancing and we are not allowed to wear face masks in the classroom even though we are sat right next to one another. You get put in isolation for a whole day just because you can see an inch of your ankle showing. Pathetic. There are fights every day, bullying, homophobia, sexism, and whatever else you can think of, this school has it! Don’t send your kids here, you’ll all regret it.