THE new headteacher of one of Oxfordshire’s most struggling schools has said pulling the school out of special measures is not enough.

Joseph Rubba, who took up the post at Thameside Primary School, Cotman Close, Abingdon, in September, said he planned to lead the school until it was judged good by school inspectors Ofsted.

The school, which has about 150 pupils, has been in and out of special measures for the past decade, but received a good report on progress at its last two monitoring visits.

Mr Rubba said: “Coming out of special measures is part of a sustained school improvement plan, but it is not the end goal.

“I want to make sure the school is rated good in future, and that is a long way off.”

The school went into special measures in 1999 but came out in 2002.

But by 2008, it was back in special measures, moving briefly into the slightly less serious ‘notice to improve’ category in 2009 before being plunged back into special measures in 2010.

Mr Rubba, formerly headteacher at St Mary’s Infants School in Witney, said: “This is not about a school that has been picked up because of any simple minor thing, there are a lot of deep-seated issues this school faces.”

Key issues criticised in the past included leadership and management, low pupil attainment and progress, and high staff turnover, which Mr Rubba said were being tackled.

Inspectors said teachers were being helped to plan lessons more effectively and focus particularly on children’s writing skills. They said communication among senior staff had improved.

Children at the school typically start with lower than average levels of attainment. But Mr Rubba said it was “easy and a bit lazy” to blame the catchment area, pointing out the school which serves the same area, Caldecott Primary School, was not in special measures. He said: “These kids are teachable and able to learn just like anyone else.

“When you work in school, you quickly realise how special these children are in terms of how easy it is to get them enthused.”

He added: “There is a lot to do but I would like to be here for the long term.”

In the recent monitoring report, inspector Christopher Russell said pupils now made at least satisfactory progress in all lessons, and praised the positive start made by Mr Rubba.

Mr Rubba pointed out assistant headteacher Anna Grice, who was acting head before he took up the post, led the school through a successful monitoring inspection in June, and said the whole leadership team was crucial in turning around the school’s fortunes.

Beverley Vanstone, 33, from Midget Close, has a daughter, Grace, seven, at the school.

She said: “Mr Rubba always stands at the front gate and greets us so he’s there if we want to talk to him. Grace enjoys going to school and I know they are trying to eradicate bad behaviour with rewards and charts, and get a bit more structure to lessons.”

Miranda Prior, from Wilsham Road, has two children at the school, Ethan, eight, and Harvey, six. She said: “Before, there were teachers coming in and covering, and things were all over the place – the children didn’t know whether they were coming or going.

“It’s a lot more settled now.”