A ROSSENDALE school has been criticised for its “pupils’ low work standards and a lack of quality teaching”.

St Anne’s CE Primary School in Ashworth Road, Waterfoot, went from “good” to “requires improvement” in its latest Ofsted inspection.

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Inspectors found that the quality of teaching was “not good enough to ensure pupils made consistent progress” and too much work in the pupils’ books was “incomplete” and of a “low standard”.

Lead inspector Aelwyn Pugh said: “The quality of teaching is not good enough to ensure that pupils across the school make consistently good progress and reach the standards expected of them.

“The most able pupils are not being stretched enough academically.

“Too much of the work in pupils’ books is incomplete, of a low standard, or poorly presented. Teachers are not rigorous in demanding improvements.

“In Key Stage One, standards have been too low for too long. Improvements in Key Stage Two have not been consistent.”

The school was deemed “good” in 2011 after being praised for making a “significant difference to the lives of pupils and families” by providing “outstanding care and guidance”.

This week’s Ofsted report also criticised the school’s development plan which “does not focus sufficiently on the main weaknesses” and governors had not been rigorous enough” in identifying the underperformance of the school.

However, inspectors did praise the early years provision in the school, the “rich and varied” curriculum and pupil’s behaviour.

Despite the downgrading, headteacher Charlotte Hartley said she was determined to make sure improvements as fast as possible.

She said: “While we are disappointed with the outcome, we accept the inspectors’ findings and, with the support of the local authority, have put actions in place to address the issues identified.

“As the inspectors recognised, this is a small school which has been through a challenging period of transition, including my appointment as its new headteacher.

“We have already made significant changes and we are committed to improving leadership and management of the school even further.

“We are already working with the county council’s advisers to develop an improvement action plan with clear timescales.

“We are also reviewing governors’ training, as most members of the governing body have been appointed recently.

“This will help us to ensure that we raise attainment, through increased monitoring of both teaching and pupils’ work.”