The headteacher at Elliott School in Putney has resigned amid mounting problems and threatened strike action from teachers.

Sharon Ferrell announced her resignation on Wednesday as councillors drew up plans to pull the school in Pullman Gardens back from failure.

In March Ofsted inspectors decided the school, which had been rated as inadequate, was not improving enough and their special measures report is expected shortly.

Councillor Kathy Tracey, executive member for children and young people, said: "This is a completely new start for Elliott.

"Once all the changes have been introduced it will, in essence, be a brand new school.

"There have certainly been some improvements at the school in the past year, but progress has not been as quick or as solid as we might have hoped.

"The council and it partners are determined to remedy this and provide the best possible education for children at Elliott."

The council hopes to transform the school with a new headteacher, a new governing body, new buildings and input from well performing schools.

Last week 39 teachers threatened to hold a one day strike on Thursday over staffing restructuring, but cancelled it after negotiatons on Friday.

Fears of compulsory redundancies have now been abated, but the National Union of Teachers (NUT) is waiting to see how the new action plan will affect teachers.

Spencer Barnshaw, joint secretary, said: “We feel that we have made sufficient progress in resolving the issues to suspend the strike action, and we will make a further statement next week.”

As part of the action plan, Elliott is to become a trust school, receiving extra funding and the expertise of high-flying educational establishments.

It will also have a new working relationship with Graveney School in Tooting, one of the best performing state schools in England.

The school’s existing governing body will also be replaced by an interim executive board (IEB) and an experienced interim headteacher has been appointed until the permanent post is filled in the spring term.

Mrs Ferrell did not respond to our requests for comment but the council said she would “seek fresh opportunities in the field of education”.

The latest Ofsted report for the school is likely to be published within the next fortnight.

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