SCHOOL leaders are confident they can make progress after falling below expectation with the education watchdog.

Radstock Primary School received a 'Requires Improvement' rating from Ofsted following a two-day inspection in May.

Concerns were raised about the consistency of teaching and pupil outcomes, particularly for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Despite the criticism, Lou Slocombe, head teacher of Radstock Primary, was identified as an 'ambitious' leader, capable of improving standards.

She said: "All school staff are aware of the strengths and areas for development and have been working hard to make improvements, particularly around the quality of teaching and learning.

"We believe that the strong leadership team we have in place will ensure that we can deliver the required improvements to the school before Ofsted return for another two-day inspection.

"We want to build on and enhance Radstock’s strengths whilst continuing to drive rapid improvement in the quality of teaching and in pupil outcomes."

Inspectors attended Radstock Primary in February for a short inspection and judged the school to be 'Good'.

This was the first full inspection to be carried out since 2012 and the quality of behaviour, welfare and early years provision continued to be strong.

The leadership team has also ensured all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose, with regular checks on the suitability of all staff.

The inspection report reads: "Pupils do not make consistently good progress, particularly in writing. Progress in writing is variable throughout the school.

"Teaching is not yet consistently good. High expectations for pupils’ progress are not fully secure. The support of additional adults is not always effective.

"Most disadvantaged pupils do not achieve well. Despite recent improvements, overall these pupils are not yet catching up rapidly from their low starting points."

Ms Slocombe took charge of the school in April 2017 following the retirement of the old head teacher and quickly identified ways for learning to improve.

Inspectors added: "The head teacher’s strong leadership and actively ambitious vision for the future are securing evident improvements in teaching and pupils’ progress."