NEWLY appointed leaders have ambitious plans to turn around a school that was placed in special measures.

An Academy Trust has been appointed as the sponsor to take over Radcliffe Hall Church of England/Methodist Primary School, which must become an academy.

Emma Ford will take up the reins as the new headteacher in January.

The mum-of-two has previously steered the dramatic turnaround of two primary schools.

Mrs Ford, aged 44 from Salford, said: "My main aspiration for Radcliffe Hall is to see the school become a central part of the local community in terms of the activities it runs, balanced alongside meeting national expectations.

"I also feel very passionately about getting young people involved in sport, music and the environment and investing in the children's futures."

Mrs Ford took over Bridgewater Primary just weeks before an Ofsted inspection in September 2009. In just 21 months, the school in Little Hulton went from 'failing' to good.

The Regional Schools Commissioner has appointed Christ Church Multi-Academy Trust as the sponsor to take over Radcliffe Hall after Ofsted judged the primary school to be inadequate.

An inspection carried out prior to summer, when the school had 339 pupils, slated a lack of training.

In a damning report, inspectors rated Radcliffe Hall ‘inadequate’ in all five key performance indicators, including effectiveness of leadership, quality of teaching, learning and assessment, the pupils’ personal development, behaviour and welfare.

New interim management and a new governing body were at the helm when the school term began in September, with existing headteachers at schools in Bury, Christine Reynolds and Tessa Townsend, stepping in as interim leaders. A new parent forum has also been established.

Mark Granby, Chair of the Interim Governing Board and Chair of Christ Church CE Multi Academy Trust, said: “There were lots of issues around the quality of teaching and a large number of exclusions. There is a lot of work being done to work with families to ensure children are engaging with their education, with the appropriate support.

“We are very grateful for the interim leadership provided by the two headteachers who seconded to the school.

“The timeline looks as though Radcliffe Hall will convert to an academy, joining Christ Church CE Multi Academy Trust, in April 2019.

“Work is already taking place for that transfer. It is an exciting time with the appointment of Emma Ford, who is an outstanding headteacher.

“I think it will have a really positive impact for the children.

“We also felt it was important to put in place a process with effective consultation so the parent voice could be heard.

“Once Radcliffe Hall converts to a Multi Academy Trust, we will have a local governing board that oversees the school, with elected parents on that board. We also involved parents in the selection process for the new headteacher.”