The new headteacher of an Eltham special school has proclaimed he will turn around the school’s poor Ofsted report “within five terms”.

Moatbridge School in Eltham Palace Road is for boys between the ages of 11 and 16 with social, emotional or mental health difficulties.

The school received a poor Ofsted report in early 2017, saying it “required improvement” across multiple areas, including poor attendance and teaching.

The 2017 report said: “Overall attendance for all groups of pupils, including disadvantaged pupils is low. A few pupils are persistently absent and this has an adverse effect on their achievements.

“The progress of disadvantaged pupils is below the national average for other pupils. The most able disadvantaged pupils are not making sufficient progress.”

However on January 2, Meic Griffiths joined as head teacher with the specific task of turning around the school’s fortunes.

The 46-year-old worked as a sort of 'fire-fighting headteacher' who would go into a school that was performing poorly tasked with turning its fortunes around.

Speaking to News Shopper, he said: “I used to be asked in Wales to go in and assist a school if it was failing. I have a long track record of school improvements which is why I now work at Moatbridge.”

Ofsted inspectors visited the school on February 2 and said that senior leaders are “already taking effective action to tackle the areas requiring improvement”, but that it still needed to take further action to improve pupils’ literacy skills and develop training for the staff.

Mr Griffiths said: “It’s a very positive letter we received. Within 20 days they could see that we had done a very good job already and we are still making great improvements.

“I have the full backing of the education department at the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the Council.

“I have no doubt in my mind that I will get Moatbridge out of requires improvement within five terms. It’s already on its way and we are only coming to the end of only the first term.”