A PRIMARY school has been told it needs to improve after an Ofsted inspection.

St Paul's Roman Catholic Primary in Feniscowles, Blackburn, was previously rated as good but Ofsted now says the school ‘requires improvement’ because pupils are not able to achieve consistently well between year one and year six.

Inspectors said work and activities provided for pupils were sometimes too easy and, at other times, too difficult for them. Teaching at the school was also criticised, as was the governing body.

In a report, inspector Louise Murphy said: “Although there is some good teaching, the quality of teaching of reading, writing and mathematics has not resulted in sustained good progress for pupils between year one and year six.

“Teachers do not always plan activities that accurately match the ability of all pupils in their class. For example, pupils spend a lot of time practising basic skills in mathematics; some pupils do not need so much consolidation and could at times be challenged at a higher level.

“There are other times when work in pupils’ books demonstrates that they have not quite grasped the learning. However, teachers move on to the next topic as planned and do not revisit the topic quickly enough, leaving gaps in learning for some pupils.”

Ms Murphy added: “Pupils are respectful and polite. Behaviour was good during the inspection and school records show that this is typical. Staff manage behaviour well and disruptions to lessons are rare. However, some pupils can become a little distracted when they are not sufficiently challenged during the lesson.”

Leadership at the school could be improved according to the report: It said: “The acting headteacher and seconded deputy headteacher have a clear view of the direction that they want the school to take and they have the support of most staff. "However, there are some members of the staff team who do not fulfil their shared responsibilities effectively enough.

“The school’s views about how well it is doing are not fully accurate. The school has been over-optimistic. The school judges itself to be good, while inspectors found that it requires improvement.”