The head teacher of a school which went viral on social media after a mass brawl broke out in a classroom is “devastated” after Ofsted inspectors revealed staff and pupils feel unsafe.

Independent education regulators who made a last minute visit to Walderslade Girls’ School in Chatham around the time a racially motivated fight erupted among pupils dealt it the lowest rating – “inadequate”

Now, newly-appointed head Louise Campbell has announced a raft of tough measures to get the secondary back on track, including restricting the use of mobile phones and supervising toilet breaks.

The boss of Beyond School’s trust has also been called in to improve the quality of education, a concern highlighted in the Ofsted report, and poor attendance records are now being monitored by the Department for Education.

The findings just published following the two day inspection in February stated: “Too many staff and pupils feel unsafe in this school.

“They have been affected by the continued violent and discriminatory behaviours of a number of pupils. This happens most often in the corridors between lessons and at social times.

“Pupils in all year groups report being ‘shoved’ and verbally abused.”

It added that Mrs Campbell, who at the time was acting head, had taken action to crack down on serious issues, including bullying and foul language. But there was still significant improvement required.

In a letter to parents, Mrs Campbell, said: “I have taken a hard line on violent behaviour in school, which students are aware of and have been supported by staff and parents.

“There is absolutely no place for aggressive behaviour and students have been made aware that acts of violence towards each other is inappropriate and is neither condoned nor tolerated.”

A number of pupils were permanently excluded after the fight in which footage showed a young white girl making her way into a classroom and lashing out at a black student.

A brawl escalated and a group are seen punching, kicking, pulling each other’s hair and hurling furniture while being recorded by fellow pupils.

It prompted Chatham MP Tracey Crouch to seek urgent action to ensure similar incidents never happen again.

Read more: How schoolchildren’s behaviour was affected by the pandemic

Mrs Campbell, who was promoted to her new role last week, said Ofsted’s outcome had “spurred” the school on to make drastic changes.

The safeguarding team has expanded and undertaken training with the local authority and the DfE was developing attendance strategies.

She said recruitment, as nationally, had been a problem over the last year. But added: “I can say with confidence that we will be fully staffed for the new academic year. Lessons covered by teachers not known to the students will become a rarity.”

Mrs Campbell said the school, which is under The Skills for Life Trust, has been supported by the Beyond Schools Trust, which oversees schools including Fort Pitt Grammar School in Chatham and Thomas Aveling School in Rochester, to evaluate the curriculum and teaching practices.

She said: “We now have systems in place to monitor the quality of education more frequently, which will allow strong departments to work collaboratively and share best practice across all subjects.”

Mrs Campbell concluded: “While the report is not an easy read, it has enabled us to use it as a catalyst by which to effect positive change.

“We are looking for rapid progress and working at pace to improve your daughter’s educational journey”.

Ofsted rated the secondary in Bradfields Avenue as overall “inadequate”.

In its last inspection in December 2019 it was rated as “good”.