A SCHOOL has been told to improve by Ofsted despite inspectors saying it was making “outstanding” progress in reading and “good” progress in maths.

Stratford-sub-Castle Primary School was rated as “requires improvement” in a report that said students’ progress in writing was “inconsistent”.

Inspectorsfound that pupils were not given enough opportunity to undertake the “most challenging work,” and teachers were too quick to answer questions and did not allow pupils to “grapple” with problems. It also said leadership and management needed improvement.

However, Ofsted did praise the school for behaviour, saying they are “kind and caring towards one another,”, and go out of their way to make sure everybody is included in games and learning.

They also praised senior staff for making personal development a “high priority,”, saying they knew a great deal about each individual student.

The report said: “The spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the pupils is a great strength of the school.

"The emphasis on local, national and world events ensures pupils appreciate a broad spectrum of experiences and beliefs, alongside their own. For example, pupils responded very sensitively and maturely to a news clip about the recent earthquakes in Nepal.”

The early year provision at the school was rated as "Good". The report said that the children are “well prepared” for learning in Year 1.

The school pointed out that small cohorts distort comparisons with national statistics because each pupil may represent as much as ten per cent.

Kay Bridson, headteacher of the school, said they had already identified writing as an area of improvement before the inspection and have plans in place to make “rapid progress”.

She said: “I am pleased that the strong sense of teamwork and a passion for providing pupils with the curriculum, which is interesting and meets the children’s needs, was recognised.

"The spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the pupils was also highlighted as a great strength of the school, and this is pleasing.”

She also thanked the support from parents for their support following the publication of the report.