A 'FAILING' school in Great Missenden has not made enough progress since it was put into 'special measures' last year, said inspectors.

The Misbourne School received a damning Ofsted report in November and inspectors who visited this month said its progress has been 'inadequate' on six different fronts.

The monitoring report states: “The senior leadership team is not taking a firm, well-thought out stance about what needs to be achieved and how the school will achieve it.”

The special measures put on the school include support from Buckinghamshire County Council , two 'consultant headteachers' and an Interim Executive Board.

All these parties are trying to help, the report says: “The solutions each offer have the potential for success, but their messages are perceived by the headteacher as conflicting. He is not acting decisively or with sufficient urgency.”

Managers are lacking a “clear and shared understanding” of how to make improvements, while everyone's roles and responsibilities need to be clarified, according to the report.

Headteacher John Robinson told the Bucks Free Press the findings were 'disappointing', but said: “It's not a quick fix, it's like turning a super tanker around”.

He pointed out it is less than 18 school weeks since the last report and said the school is in the process of bringing in an assistant headteacher to help drive the improvements.

Mr Robinson was appointed in September 2009. The school hit headlines earlier that year, with staff complaints surfacing. These were refuted at the time by former headteacher Jon Howard-Drake, who said the school had 'flourished' under his leadership. He also defended his relationship with the deputy head, Bea Bates (see link below).

In 2008 the school was rated as 'satisfactory' by Ofsted, one level above 'inadequate'.

Since being put into special measures the school has focused additional support on pupils set to take their GSCEs this year, and inspectors say better results are forecast. The challenge now is to phase these improvements across other years.

The report notes there is “too much inadequate teaching”, with fluctuations in staffing leading to the use of short-term teachers who cannot build up relationships with their classes.

There is good practice within the school's specialist subjects, art and technology, but improvements need to be made in English, maths and the humanities.

Pupils remain “highly motivated, courteous and thoughtful”, while there is also some “outstanding practice and teaching” in some areas, the report says.

One parent, who asked not to be named, told the Bucks Free Press: “Let’s hope the two 'heads' they have now got in turn it round... although I am not holding my breath, they seem to keep promising the world and delivering nothing.”

Click the link below for the full report.