EDUCATION watchdog inspectors have determined that Sharpness Primary School ‘requires improvement’.

An Ofsted inspector visited the school over two days at the beginning of November and, in their report published this month, have outlined a series of areas to improve.

Of the five assessed areas, three were deemed to ‘require improvement’ with the other two - early years provision and pupils’ behaviour and welfare - rated as ‘good’, giving an overall ‘requires improvement’ rating.

They found the quality of teaching to be “inconsistent” because some teachers were not using assessment information to plan challenging work for pupils.

Praise was given to the way the school’s youngest children were prepared for future stages in their education but that this level of progress was not maintained through years 1 and 2.

The school, which has 118 pupils, failed to meet minimum English and maths standards by the end of Year 6 in 2016.

However, the inspector praised the safe atmosphere at the school and the support given to pupils for them to put forward their views.

Improvements to attendance levels to bring the school in line with the national average were also highlighted, along with the recognition by senior staff of areas the school needs to prioritise.

Reception class teaching was rated as ‘good’, with the quality of teaching and children’s behaviour and safety commended by the inspector.

The inspector said: “The governors and headteacher have not yet created a consistent culture of high ambition and aspiration for pupils or staff.

“In the past, leaders’ evaluations of the school’s strengths and weaknesses have not been accurate about the standards pupils achieve or the quality of teaching.

“Leaders’ actions and efforts to raise standards have not been sharply focused.

“The headteacher and newly-formed senior team have detailed plans in place to address this.

School staff were unavailable to comment as the Gazette went to print.