A SCHOOL has been branded as inadequate by an education watchdog.

Olive Alternative Provision Academy, Daiglen Drive, The Culver Centre, South Ockendon received the rating from Ofsted following an inspection in January.

The report from Ofsted states the school requires special measures because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education.

Ofsted also found that those responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school.

The academy provides opportunities for students who are unable to succeed in their current school and supports their return to a mainstream school.

Olive Academies took over the running of the school from Thurrock Council in April 2015.

The school caters for students aged between five and 16-years-old and it currently has 113 students enrolled at the school.

Chief Executive of Olive Academies, Mark Vickers said: “We are committed in our work to address all the issues of concern identified within this Ofsted inspection report.

“The report acknowledges the challenges faced by Olive Academies since taking on management of Thurrock’s alternative provision.

“Since then improvements have been made at the Olive AP Academy – Thurrock but there is much more still to be done to ensure that high standards are consistently met.

“The Ofsted report recognised that the school’s newly recruited senior leadership, the impact of this new team will take time to feed through to our results.

“Ofsted also acknowledged in the report that the Olive Academies Trust is supporting new leaders to establish much-needed strategic leadership.

“Pupils at Olive AP Academy – Thurrock reported to Ofsted inspectors that they felt safe and that staff take concerns seriously.

“There are good things to learn from this report and we are committed to delivering the Ofsted inspectors’ recommendations.

“We are determined to ensure that strong leadership, management, teaching and monitoring of our pupils’ progress is of the highest quality at Olive AP Academy - Thurrock.

“I will be working closely with our experienced Co-Executive Headteachers Eileen Hinds and Jo Hill, together with Interim Headteacher Adam Tedesco to ensure that changes are made immediately and decisively, acting on all Ofsted’s findings. We can and must do better for our pupils and their families.”