Fights, bullying and truancy were rife when Simon Sharples took charge of Sandwich Technology School in January.

But the new head has now revealed how he is turning the school around after sweeping reforms led to a positive monitoring visit from Ofsted.

The Deal Road site was plunged into special measures last May following a damning report by inspectors which said pupils felt "bullied" and "unsafe".

The education watchdog said they were not "prepared for life in modern Britain" and even found levels of inappropriate behaviour left other children “fearful”.

Former head teacher Tracey Savage described the ‘Inadequate’ rating as “narrow” and “unjustified” before she resigned and was replaced by Mr Sharples in January.

But Ofsted returned last month for the monitoring visit - where a rating or decisions on whether to take the school out of special measures are not made, but progress is checked.

Inspectors praised significant improvements, including better behaviour, fewer children skipping lessons, and noted that fighting is now rare, and is dealt with swiftly if it occurs.

On taking on the job earlier this year - his first as a head teacher - Mr Sharples admits he was “daunted because of the circumstances”.

“It was my first headship, and I had taken on the school in special measures,” he said.

“I was thinking, 'what's this going to be like?’ I was aware of quite a lot of friction.”

The 52-year-old says safety was his first priority when taking over.

In the ‘Inadequate’ report, inspectors said some students felt unsafe at school.

“Safeguarding was right at the top of my list,” Mr Sharples explained.

“I was aware of concerns in the May 2024 report.

“So my priority was to make sure everything was safe, through many different ways, for example, very strong visibility of our school leaders around the site.”

He brought in a plan which included the major reshuffle of the senior leadership team, as well as the introduction of new, stricter policies.

It came after truancy was a major problem identified in the inadequate inspection.

“They used to wander in large groups,” Mr Sharples said.

“The corridors used to be loud.

“Now, you walk around the school, and it’s quiet. In the report, they described them as calm.”

“When students are happy, they tend to do well…”

Attendance has risen by 3.6% compared to the same time last year.

The two main new policies brought in include the ‘Sandwich Start’ and the ‘Yellow Book’ system.

The former means pupils begin every lesson by answering five questions about their previous session.

“It creates this idea of calm uniformity, regularity, and it settles the students,” Mr Sharples said.

The ‘Yellow Book’ is a sanctions system, which is complemented by a ‘Green Book’ reward system.

But rather than just doubling down on harsher punishments for pupils, staff have also tried to make school more fun.

Mr Sharples explained: “With the issues of truancy, I think the students weren't enjoying school.

“I want students to be happy. When students are happy, they tend to do well.

“It sounds like a very simplistic thing, but I was aware that they just didn't like school for whatever reason.”

The school now offers 40 clubs a week, non-uniform days have been put back in place, there are themed lunches in the canteen, and charity fundraising activities have been introduced.

In the most recent report following its visit in April, Ofsted said: “Higher expectations of pupils are having a positive impact on pupils’ behaviour.”

“Behaviour has significantly improved over the last three months,” it added.

“Fights, which were previously commonplace, are now rare and infrequent.

“Pupils are more assured that, if fights take place, they will be dealt with by staff.

“Some of our very best teachers are going to lead us forward…”

“Pupils note the high levels of staff and leader visibility around the school.

“Behaviour in lessons is now calmer and more focused.”

The report did note there were improvements still to be made in some areas, but that staff recognised this and knew what needed to be worked on.

It added: “For most pupils, there is now confidence that, when bullying happens, it will be dealt with well by staff.

“However, this is not an opinion shared by everyone.

“A minority of pupils and parents feel that bullying is still something that the school needs to address with greater effectiveness.”

Mr Sharples - who was deputy before taking the top role - says he has been shocked by the positive reaction to the changes from staff, parents and children.

“I knew I could improve the school, but I didn't know everyone would react,” he said.

“That was the bit that took me by surprise.

“The teachers were just brilliant. They were so supportive, they've done everything I've asked.

“The students have been fantastic. I walk out and they come up to me, they say thank you, they pick up their litter. These sorts of things.

“We’ve been communicating with parents more regularly and making them feel very welcomed and included. We know being a parent is difficult.”

Mr Sharples grew up in Sandwich but spent the majority of his career teaching in Surrey and London.

He returned to Kent six years ago and took the role of deputy head at the school, which caters for more than 1,300 pupils aged 11 to 19.

On Ofsted survey website Parent View, the number of carers who say their children feel safe at school has risen from 41% in May 2024 to 81%.

“As head teacher, I would like to thank every member of the school staff for their hard work and loyalty to the school,” Mr Sharples added.

“I would like to thank all of the parents and carers who have been unreservedly positive since January and whose emails, ideas and comments have been very welcome.

“My thanks also go to the various external partners who have helped us since January.

“Above all, I would like to thank the students as they have been full of enthusiasm, positivity and have shown excellent character.”

After the ‘Inadequate’ rating, the school, which runs as a single academy, was hit with the biggest slump in first-choice applications for last September’s intake of all schools in Kent.

But looking ahead, Mr Sharples says he has still got “further curriculum and assessment improvements to make”.

“Some of our very best teachers are going to lead us forward to further improve the quality of teaching,” he said.