THE Trafalgar School in Downton has retained its "good" rating from Ofsted inspectors.

The Ofsted report said it "continues to be a good school" but inspectors said they had "some concerns that one or more areas may be declining".

The report said: "The curriculum is broad, and within many subjects the organisation of the learning has been considered carefully. However, there is not enough thought about how the curriculum should be taught. The focus of the learning is sometimes vague, so pupils do activities without being able to articulate what they are learning. As a result, pupils are not remembering enough over time."

Inspectors said that say there is "very little bullying" and that "if it does occur, staff deal with it swiftly", adding: "Parents are very positive about the experiences that their children have."

The report went on to say leaders' expectations of the curriculum were "not high enough", especially for the most able pupils, and that some subject curriculums were "not challenging pupils".

It also said: "Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive carefully planned and considered support in their learning.

Safeguarding was said to be effective. Inspectors said staff were "quick to notice" any signs of concern regarding vulnerable pupils.

The report also flagged up that there were "too many pupils, mainly the disadvantaged,who do not attend school regularly" but said leaders are working to improve this.

On what the school needs to improve, the report said: "Leaders must tighten up the processes for monitoring teaching and learning with some urgency."

The report said "inconsistency in the quality of education" pupils receive also needed to be addressed.

The school said the highlighted areas for further development are now "integrated" into its School Improvement Plan and "these are ongoing areas for development within our school and have been actioned and built into our current provision".

Head teacher Stewart Roderick said, “I am delighted that the inspectors recognised the many strengths of our school and that their judgement was that The Trafalgar School at Downton continues to be ‘Good’ when judged against the Ofsted framework.

"As with all inspections centered on continuous school improvement, there are always areas for further development and our focus over the next 12-24 months will be on strengthening these areas. Most importantly, we were really pleased with the feedback to the inspection team, from a significant number of our parents, indicating the positive experience their children have at our school.”

The inspection was carried by Ofsted on March 3 to 4. The Trafalgar School is part of the Magna Learning Partnership.