TWO primary schools in Accrington have been ordered to improve following recent inspections.

Both St Anne’s and St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Primary School, in Sandy Lane, and St Nicholas Church of England Primary School, in St Nicholas Road, were given ratings of ‘requires improvement’ by education watchdog Ofsted.

MORE TOP STORIES:

The schools, both inspected last month, were both previously rated as ‘good’.

They have now pledged to address the concerns raised by inspectors within the reports.

Lead inspector Christine Potter and her colleague Alastair Younger said youngsters at St Nicholas were not consistently making good progress in class, were not always given work that matched their abilities, and she criticised teachers’ marking.

Classroom displays did not always help children focus on their key skills, and some pupils were ‘too boisterous and rough’ when playing together, with a small minority misbehaving in class.

However, strengths included the new headteacher, Vicky Axon, who was described as ‘highly ambitious’, students getting off to a good start in the early years department, ‘highly skilled’ teaching assistants, and the safety and security of the school.

Insp Potter said: “When the headteacher took up the post in January 2014, she quickly identified prompt action was needed to improve behaviour, teaching and achievement, all of which have declined since the last inspection.

“This has been due to changes to leadership and staffing, and inconsistent teaching and behaviour management that have not met the needs of individual pupils well enough.”

At St Anne’s and St Joseph’s, lead inspector Geoffrey Yates said students’ attainment at the end of Year Six was below average, teaching has not been consistently good enough, brighter pupils were not being challenged, marking was inconsistent, and teachers were not using assistants well enough.

However, reception-aged children were making good progress, pupils behaved well with an above-average attendance, there was a good range of extra-curricular activities, and governors were benefitting from additional training.

Insp Yates said: “The headteacher, Felicity Watson, has a good understanding of what needs to be done to take the school back to being a good one and has taken action to tackle weaknesses, but the full impact of these actions has yet to be seen.”

There are four Ofsted grades that can be given by inspectors, ranging from grade one, which means ‘outstanding’, to grade four, which means ‘inadequate’.

Grade two is ‘good’, while grade three is ‘requires improvements’.

Ofsted said: “A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate.

“The school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection.”

Nobody at either school, both closed for half-term, was available for comment at the time of going to print.