We asked Gill Broom a series of tough questions about whether she thinks she should remain headteacher, whether Lancashire County Council's decision to merge schools was the right one, and whether Hameldon can overcome its problems.

Are you happy how you and your staff handled the school intrusion on December 14?

"I'm very limited as to what I can say about the incident because it is under police investigation, but as soon as staff became aware of it, the critical incident guidelines were put in place, a protocol we have to follow.

"We are now reviewing our actions to see if they were the best to take, as we do after any incident, and the governors have commissioned a health and safety audit."

Do students and parents feel that the school is a safe place now?

"The fact that we had attendance figures of 90.1per cent on the first day back on Monday is again objective evidence, as is what we hear back from the local authority, which carries out regular interviews with students.

"Our mission is to get the school back on track and on an even keel as a calm and safe environment, and we have a focused plan to enable us to do that.

Some have suggested you are not up to the job - do you think you are?

"I have a job to do, I am accountable to the governing body and local authority and I have regular review meetings with them.

"If they felt that there was any question about abilities then they would be making decisions about suspensions.

"I am employed to lead and manage Hameldon Community College as its headteacher. I am committed to the post and doing everything I can to move the school forward.

"Ofsted has said that the headteacher provides strong leadership and a clear vision for the school - that's what an independent organisation has said.

"I think a lot of people can say a lot of things but at the end of the day I am employed to lead and manage the school and if I had been found wanting I wouldn't be here."

Has being head of Hameldon been more challenging than you expected?

"In any job there are things that as a leader and manager I have to deal with. One of the things that was recognised by Ofsted in its monitoring inspection in October was that the headteacher had shown strong leadership - that is objective evidence, and I am also accountable to the local authority."

Have you ever thought about resigning?



"I have taught in Lancashire for 25 years, I come from the county and I went to a large comprehensive school here. I am committed to Lancashire, and having taught in Burnley for the last 11 years, I am committed to the town's young people.

"No, I have not thought of resigning, I'm here to do a job.

"There have been improvements in the school since it opened and we now need to build on these improvements."

Do you think students respect you and your staff?



"If we look back at our Ofsted report it said that despite the best efforts of the school, a significant minority of students don't want to arrive to school on time, and we as a school have to recognise that as part of our self evaluation.

"We have identified those students and have regular governor panel meetings to address the problems in terms of attendance and behaviour, and we have worked with parents and different agencies.

"In any school there are a small number of students who find it difficult to conform at certain times but with the support of different agencies we put in action plans to tackle that."

What are the biggest challenges that Hameldon faces and how are they to be tackled?

"Our biggest challenge is to become a calm and ordered environment it was before the incident occurred last month, and to continue to raise attainment and achievement of our young people - that's what we're here to do first and foremost - prepare our young people for the future."

"We're tackling these through the Ofsted action plan, which sets out very clearly the short, medium and long term goals.

"In terms of this recent incident, we spoke to parents last week to make sure they had a chance to raise their concerns. Any issue that was raised was noted down, and we will be writing to parents telling them what we are doing about their concerns. The meetings meant we could work together to get students back and move the school on."

Do you think the problems around racial integration can be overcome?

"We are working with many agencies to promote racial harmony and Ofsted recognised that we are making progress - we need to keep on with that."

In hindsight, do you think it was a good decision by the local authority to merge Ivy Bank and Habergham Schools, especially before the new buildings were built?

"Hindsight is a good thing, but I think there's no point in looking back - the fact is the schools ARE merged.

"What we have to do is learn from the experiences we have had and move on, we need to evaluate what has occurred.

"There were decisions that were made that were not made by the schools. There are many good things about the merger as well as many challenges. But we are in this situation and we have to deal with things to move this school on. What's the point of dwelling on what's already happened?"

Do you think that Hameldon can reach the same levels of achievement as Ivy Bank and Habergham HIgh Schools?

"Yes, Hameldon definitely has the potential to be as good, if everybody works together."

Do you think more thought should have gone into the BSF scheme before it was implemented in Burnley and Pendle?

"Again, I don't think there's any point in looking back.

"But I would hope that any authority which is going through a BSF programme, which provides excellent opportunities for the community, is looking at other areas, such as Lancashire, which has already established the scheme, to inform their decisions."

Some observers have accused the local authority of "hanging you out to dry". What do you think about that?

"The local authority provides challenges and accountability but they do also provide excellent professional support and that is how it should be.

"The most important thing is that we get Hameldon out of special measures and that's everybody's focus.

"I'd actually like to thank the police, the Burnley Council and the local authority for the support they have already given us."

What would you say to any critics of the school?

"If there are issues, then please let us know and tell us directly what they are so we can work together.

"We will be holding meetings in the community in the first two half terms exactly so we can listen to them. We have already have positive suggestions from parents at the informal sessions last week.

"We want to focus on improving the school and working together to move it forward in terms of attendance, learning and teaching.

"The greatest wish of every member of staff is for everybody to work together to move forward and get the best for our students. That's what we are here for and what I got into teaching to do.

"We know that there are things we need to improve, but despite what happened last month, our academic results were in line with what the two previous schools had been getting, and our GCSE results were the second best in Burnley.

"I want Hameldon to be a school students are proud to be part of, and everyone needs to work together on that."