A fresh start is in order for a troubled school as it looks ahead to a future ‘supporting a community that has not been supported.’

IPACA, now known as Atlantic Academy Portland, is part of the Aspirations Academy Trust and new principal Jonathan Heap has taken over the reins.

Mr Heap is determined to see ‘fast but sustainable’ progress as he looks to make the school, rated inadequate in its last Ofsted inspection, outstanding.

He says Aspirations stepped in to ‘support a community that is not being supported’ and that there is a ‘moral obligation’ to support areas where there is underachievement.

Mr Heap said: “For whatever reason, whatever was tried before has not worked. We have a clear vision and have the confidence to take action; we want to get stuck in. It’s our chance to put in place what we think the island needs.”

According to Mr Heap, communication will be the key to building relationships between staff, pupils, parents and the community following a number of controversies to hit the school.

He intends to hold open evenings to talk to parents and introduce heads of faculties, who will be the first port of call for any concerned parents seeking advice and will aim to respond to any queries within 24 hours.

“Communication is key,” said Mr Heap. “We do not want an ‘us and them’ situation, we want to be a team. We are aware we have a lot of work to do to build those relationships.

“Parents and students have stuck with the school through various things that have happened. There is a real support for the school from the community and we want to harness that. Consistency is needed now.”

Starting this term, Years 1 to 11 will be based at Maritime House, a £24m campus complete with state-of-the art facilities including a 200-seat theatre and cinema and sport and swimming facilities.

The decision to move Years 1 to 4 from Osprey Quay to Maritime House to fit in with plans for an all-through academy triggered outcry among some parents, but Mr Heap believes it will benefit students and parents in the long run.

Primary school students will be taught in a separate block, enter and exit through a separate entrance at the beginning and end of the school day and have lunch and start and end the school day at different times to secondary pupils.

Transport arrangements to the campus have been finalised with Dorset County Council.

“Safety is absolutely paramount,” said Mr Heap. “Primary will be in a separate block but then all years will come together for inter-faculty competitions. We have such great facilities here, let’s use them. We will be the centre of the community.”

The Aspirations Academy Trust was founded in 2011 following a meeting between founders Steve Kenning and Dr Russ Quaglia, also president of the Quaglia Institute for Student Aspirations based in the USA.

It is made up of 12 academies, including Magna Academy Poole (secondary) and Jewell Academy Bournemouth (primary), which joined in September 2013.

Magna hit national headlines in 2015 and 2017 for its strict rules.

In 2015, it isolated pupils for pencil case ‘infringements.’

About 40 children were thought to have been held away from their classmates in another room in silence, released only when their parents brought in the correct piece of kit.

But Mr Heap says rules and consistency benefit children and learning.

“It reduces bullying and disruption,” said Mr Heap. “It creates a sense of belonging. The parents have responded well to the equipment policy; they are given plenty of notice.”

In 2017, Magna advertised for the position of director of isolations and detentions for its purposebuilt Behaviour Correction Unit, a move that was criticised as ‘Dickensian’ by some.

Mr Heap said: “It was something the academy felt it needed.

“You have got to have something to encourage children to behave and that was a pre-emptive measure.

“We will be focusing largely on rewarding students for their success. At the end of every 10 weeks we will hold an assessments, celebrations and competitions week. We will focus on the positives.

“Strict rules and happiness and wellbeing are one and the same; children feel safe if they have a calm, orderly environment.”

Mr Heap, who has 10 years’ teaching experience and has spent five years as a vice-principal, helping to bring Magna from special measures to outstanding in just three years, has big hopes for the Atlantic Academy.

He said: “The first thing is to make it the best school in Weymouth and Portland and then beyond, which it is more than capable of becoming.”