Teaching is inadequate at Burrowmoor School, according to an Ofsted inspection, where the head teacher left at the end of last term to “seek other opportunities.

Too many pupils have a poor attitude towards learning and “some teaching assistants are not suitably deployed to make sure they make a positive contribution to pupils’ learning.”

An Ofsted report put the March school into special measures and a meeting was called to talk to concerned parents of the 400 pupils by Carrie Henderson, head of school, and Jason Wing, executive principal.

The report is quick to point out strengths at the school saying children make good progress in the nursery and are taught well.

Children in early years behave well, the report adds, and across the whole school the good range of clubs, visits and special days enrich learning and help pupils to enjoy school.

In a statement, Active Learning Trust, which runs the academy school, says the inspection “has highlighted areas for improvement”.

The trust says “work to improve Burrowmoor has already started, and rapid improvement is what we as a Trust and School will ensure”.

Gary Peile, Chief Executive of the Active Learning Trust, said: “We have already carried out independent reviews across the school to ensure that everything from staffing to curriculum is targeted for improvement.”

He said the school would build on ‘green shoots’ of progress that have already appeared at Burrowmoor.

The report says that adults do not manage pupil behaviour consistently well in the class or the playground and pupils do not always behave well in lessons or at break times.

It says students’ work is often poorly presented and in reception year improvement is needed because children’s’ writing skills do not improve quickly enough.

The headteacher, other leaders and the local governing body have not been successful in addressing weaknesses quickly enough and leaders are “over generous” in their evaluation of the school’s work.

The school’s system for checking and improving the quality of teaching are not through enough and the school is not effective at closing the gap between disadvantaged pupils and others.