A VILLAGE primary school has been told it ‘requires improvement’ after an Ofsted inspection.

St Stephen’s Primary, in Tockholes, which has 43 pupils on its roll, was given the ranking after a visit earlier this month.

All four inspection criteria – achivement of pupils, quality of teaching, behaviour and safety of pupils, and leadership and management – were given a ‘requires improvement’, the third of four possible scores.

Lead inspector Robert Pye reported that children were not achieving well enough and that more gifted pupils were not challenged.

He said: “Standards at the end of Years Two and Six are broadly average but too few pupils reach the higher levels of attainment in writing.

“The quality of teaching is too variable to ensure that pupils achieve consistently well.

“The most able pupils do not achieve as well as they can because work is sometimes too easy for them.

“Pupils do not always concentrate as well as they should because not all lessons captivate their interest.”

Mr Pye said the school did have strengths, including good attendance, ‘because pupils enjoy learning and being a part of St Stephen’s’.

He added: “Pupils’ spiritual, moral and cultural development is a strength of the school.

“Over the past year, governors have been more closely involved in the life of the school and in checking its performance.”

In a letter to parents, headteacher Dominic James said: “The inspection was triggered due to the school having a new headteacher who had been in situ for 18 months.

“It was a full-on day for the school and I would like to take this opportunity to thank my staff for their wonderful support for myself and the children.

“We have had a lot of good strengths identified by the inspectors but there are also a number of areas which require improvement.

“The school and the governors are already preparing an action plan to deal with the areas requiring improvement to move the school forward.

“I would like to thank parents and carers for their continued support of the school as we move forward and build on the good strong areas already identified.”