A PRIMARY school which was rated "inadequate" two years ago remains in "special measures" after its latest progress report.

Inspectors from education watchdog Ofsted have visited Leigh CE Primary School concluded "leaders and managers are not taking effective action towards the removal of special measures".

The Henrietta Street school's improvement plan was deemed to be "not fit for purpose", and no newly qualified teachers are allowed to be employed before the next inspection.

The report said: "Although leaders have ambitious plans for improvement, they realise that there is still a long way to go from a low starting point.

"The school improvement plan does not articulate the changing priorities of the school closely enough.

"It is also unclear how the planned actions will make a difference to pupils’ outcomes.

"The most able pupils are not challenged to achieve as well as they can.

"Work in pupils’ books shows that, all too often, they complete tasks which they can already do.

"Leaders understand that pupils’ attendance remains a key target for improvement.

"Pupils’ attendance has declined since the last inspection.

"In addition, the proportion of pupils who are persistently absent from school has increased."

Since the last inspection in July 2016, the school has changed from a junior school to a primary and undergone a staffing restructure with seven teachers leaving since that time.

The school is working closely with the council to make improvements and there were some positive aspects that were picked out in the report.

Inspectors said: "Leaders have worked hard to bring the school community together and to regain the trust of staff and parents.

"Staff are aware of their responsibilities, work together well and are determined to secure the improvements needed.

"The parents spoken to all agree that the school is moving in the right direction.

"Leaders have worked hard to establish a consistent approach to teaching across the

school.

"Safeguarding procedures are effective, thorough and are well understood.

"Leaders ensure that any incidents are meticulously recorded and they are quick to follow up on any concerns.

"The quality of teaching and learning is monitored on a regular basis and feedback is provided to teachers."

The report was published on Monday after a two-day inspection on January 10 and 11.

A school spokesperson said: “The leadership team and governing body remain committed to making rapid improvements to the school and many have already been implemented which the latest report picked up on.

"These included the clear focus to improve the standard of teaching, that safeguarding procedures are effective and the impact of leaders’ work is clear in some aspects of the school including the much-improved behaviour of pupils.

"We are confident improvements are being made and our year six children are already achieving at a higher level and across the school the achievement of pupils is strengthening.

“Unfortunately there have been delays, which were out of our control, with securing academy status.

"This restricted the judgements the inspector was able to make about a long-term direction for the school which is extremely disappointing for us.

"However our plans are now fully back on track and we are confident we have a direction and a detailed plan to take us on this journey.”

Alan Lindsay, assistant director for education at the council, added: “The council will continue to work closely with the school and its governing body to support its journey of improvement.

"We have every confidence the school has the right leadership in place and everyone is committed to making rapid and necessary improvements that will create a bright future for the school and its pupils.

"We are very grateful to all those colleagues who have supported the school to this point and we are fully supportive of the recently announced school’s proposed academy sponsor which should enable inspectors at their next visit to see the longer-term clarity they sought over the direction of the school.”