A HEADTEACHER has been praised for taking “decisive action” to turn around the fortunes of a school plunged into special measures six months ago.

The Colne Community School in Brightlingsea was rated inadequate across the board after a damning Ofsted report in May.

Inspectors found safeguarding was ineffective, bullying was prevalent and pupils’ progress was poor.

Neil Gallagher, principal of Clacton County High School, was drafted in as interim headteacher in June.

Ofsted inspector Christine Dick visited the school again in November and found safeguarding at the school was now effective and behaviour was improving.

She praised Mr Gallagher and found teachers and parents believed behaviour had improved.

A new behaviour policy was introduced but Ms Dick said staff were not consistent at using it leading to “some perceptions of unfairness”.

Ms Dick found pupils also took too long to respond to teachers’ request to behave.

She criticised the number of pupils who were put into internal exclusion and said tutorials at the start of the day lack structure.

Ms Dick found most pupils felt bullying was still an issue in the school. The school has adopted a zero tolerance policy if allegations are confirmed.

Mr Gallagher said he felt the report “accurately captures” where the school is.

He said a “cultural change” was needed so pupils knew what was expected in terms of their behaviour. On average three pupils end up in isolation a day.

“I think we are moving in the right direction and it is a shame that inspector did not have the scope to look at the special measures grading,” he said.

“I think the school is improving quickly – all the raw materials are here. All we need is a bit of time and a bit of dedication and the Colne will be back as one of the best providers of education.”

Work is underway to engage with parents more with a new newsletter and better response times. Mr Gallagher admitted there were “no quick fixes”.

He added: “I’m so grateful for the support of the staff. They are here working so hard to put this right. There is a huge amount of pressure and they are doing a superb job in very difficult circumstances.”

The school is in the process of being taken over by the Sigma Trust. In March Nardeep Sharma and Catherine Hutley, from the Thrive Partnership Academy Trust, which ran the Colne School and Philip Morant, were suspended and subsequently resigned.