Thomas Eaton Primary School in Wimblington has been labelled inadequate and warned it needs to tackle weaknesses.

The village school was told by Ofsted inspectors that teaching quality was inadequate, leadership needed improving and personal development, behaviour and welfare needed improving.

Head teacher Steve West was brought in to tackle problems amid the previous Ofsted inspection which rated the school as needing improvement,

Ofsted inspector Mike Capper said that Mr West provided ‘strong and decisive’ leadership” and that “since arrival, the determined head teacher has worked tirelessly to raise the aspirations of staff.

“He has established a culture where it is now understood that provision is not yet good enough,” Mr Capper said.

“Performance management arrangements are much more rigorous than in the past. They set teachers challenging targets that are closely linked to improving outcomes for pupils.”

Until recently, leaders have not done enough to halt the decline in pupils’ attainment and the quality of teaching, the report said.

Pupils do not make enough progress over time and while there have been some improvements in the current year, their attainment by the end of Year 6 has been too low, the report said.

“Writing skills are particularly weak,” Mr Capper added.

“Children get off to a poor start in early years provision. In the Reception Year, teaching does not help children to improve skills quickly and there are weaknesses in the curriculum.

“In Key Stages 1 and 2 teachers’ expectations are not always high enough and work is too hard or too easy for some pupils.

“Some pupils do not take enough pride in their work or develop a sufficiently strong desire to learn. They are sometimes inattentive in lessons when work does not engage them fully.

“Additional government funding is not helping to close the gap between the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and others.”

However, the report noted that the school has strengths, which includes the determined new headteacher who provides strong leadership.

“Until recently he has had to take on too much. Nonetheless, he has made a good start to improving provision.

“The new senior leadership team and the re-energised governing body are doing the right things to deal with the main priorities.

“Pupils are kept safe. They conduct themselves well around school. They are friendly, polite and courteous,” Mr Capper said.