THE headteacher of a school placed in special measures earlier his month is to leave his post today.
Mersey Primary School headteacher Peter Robinson announced his intention to quit in a letter to parents.
He said: "It is with a heavy heart that I will be leaving Mersey Primary at the end of this term.
"In the ten years I have been at the school, I have enjoyed working with pupils, staff, parents and governors and I tried to give my best efforts to the school.
"During that time, we have been through three inspections, two which were successful. Unfortunately, the latest inspection has been deemed unsatisfactory.
"There will be a great many demands placed on the children, staff and governors in the coming months, so it is perhaps appropriate there should be a change of leadership for the school in order that a new era can begin."
In his letter, Mr Robinson said he had been honoured to serve the community by leading the school.
He said: "I have enjoyed my time at Mersey despite the day-to-day challenges associated with running a primary school.
"It has been a privilege to be part of the school."
Ofsted inspectors criticised poor teaching in their report after visiting the school in Derwent Street, east Hull, last October.
They said pupils were not making enough progress in core subjects, such as English and maths, and described some teaching as "inadequate".
They also claimed not enough was being done to close the achievement gap between boys and girls at the school.
The report also described the leadership of the school as "inadequate".
However, it said: "The headteacher is liked by pupils and staff.
"He makes sure he is out and about on the playground most days and parents know he can be approached about any matter that concerns them.
"There is a strong 'can-do' spirit, although some staff do not have sufficient time to develop or check on their subject areas.
"The headteacher's checks on the quality of teaching focus too much on how teachers teach and not enough on how well pupils learn.
"Consequently, teaching is not improving as quickly as it should."
Although the inspection report praised the way teachers managed pupil behaviour at the school, one parent disagreed and said he was not surprised by Mr Robinson's decision.
The parent, who did not wish to be named, said: "There has been a failure to tackle persistent bullying at the school.
"These things have been going on for years. A lot of parents have complained about it but nothing ever gets done."
Speaking to the Mail immediately after the report was published, Mr Robinson said: "The staff are understandably upset and extremely disappointed at the outcome of the inspection but they are determined and committed to respond to the issues raised and move the school forward."
