A school has been rated as needing improvement by Ofsted.

Benjamin Hargreaves School was visited by government inspectors at the start of term.

Behaviour and safety of children was rated as good but achievement of pupils, quality of teaching and leadership and management required improvement.

Headteacher Julie Nicol said inspectors had acknowledged that the school was working hard to implement recommendations made in its last inspection including pupils achieving above average scores at Key Stage 2 in maths.

She said: “The inspectors recognised that many improvements have been made since the last inspection but could not judge the school to be ‘good' because the achievement of some pupils needs to be accelerated.

"The inspectors and the governors know that the school has the capacity to continue to improve. We are confident that the measures already put in place and those still to be implemented will impact further on pupil progress and attainment.”

Inspector Liam Trippier found children made uneven progress throughout school, there was inconsistent levels of teaching, the school's website needed improvement and leadership and management needed to focus more on raising pupil achievement.

However he also noted: “Pupils’ behaviour is typically good and nearly all parents agree. Pupils say they like school and feel safe.

“The curriculum provides memorable experiences for pupils and the topics covered are interesting and relevant to pupils.

“The headteacher and deputy headteacher are ensuring new ideas introduced, such as the clear marking code, are helping to improve teaching and raise pupils’ achievement.

“Governance is good. Governors effectively challenge and support the school to improve.”

The school was graded as satisfactory during its previous inspection in 2012 before new more rigorous inspection criteria were introduced.