A NEW headteacher who has taken over the reins at a school handed a damning Ofsted report says he is under no illusion there is a “big job” to do.

Mayflower High School, in Stock Road, Billericay, was rated “requires improvement” after an inspection earlier this year.

It saw it downgraded from outstanding after parents “lost trust and confidence in the school.”

Inspectors were also critical of the behaviour of pupils.

Damian Lee arrived as the new headteacher the day the report was published in June.

Mr Lee has already set about making changes and bolstering teaching with two experience senior leaders due to join the school in September.

He said: “There is work to do; it is a big job.

“I do firmly believe the school can quickly get back to where it has been in previous years.

“In my previous roles, I have focused on school improvement, development of senior leaders and looking at national strategies. The experience I have affords me a good education around school improvement, system leadership, and developing effective teams.”

Mr Lee, who has 22 years of experience in education and has worked within the Academies Enterprise Trust, added: “We are going to address culture, ethos, behaviour, development and accountability of staff and students and the result of that will be high outcomes.

“Students and our families have high ambitions and we need to match that.”

Mr Lee took the unusual step of arriving mid-year to ensure he could begin making improvements at the school as quickly as possible.

He said he was spending his initial weeks looking at systems and processes, culture and ethos and recruitment of “strong staff” for September.

Mr Lee added: “We need to have the right systems and processes, the right behaviour and the right people in front of students.

“We need to invest in staff and develop them at pace. Lessons will be interactive, inspiring, fast-paced and challenging.

“We have some amazing staff here who are fully committed to the children. The staff body has really bought in to the changes we are proposing and are open to being part of the process.”