Teaching staff and governors have been praised for improving a primary school after being told it requires improvement by an education watchdog.

Woodnook Primary School in Accrington was rated as ‘requiring improvement’ in three out of five inspection areas by Ofsted last year.

But lead inspector Sheila Iwaskow has now carried out a review of the school and said senior leaders and governors are ‘taking effective action to tackle the areas requiring improvement identified at the last inspection in order to become a good school’.

These were leadership and management, teaching learning and assessment, and pupil outcomes.

In her report, she said: “There have been a significant number of staff changes since the last inspection.

“A new chair of the governing body is in post and several new members have been appointed to ensure a balanced range of skills and experience.

“Immediately after the last inspection, you and senior leaders wasted no time in putting together an action plan to address the areas for improvement highlighted by the inspection.

“This action plan is coherent and identified a wide range of practical strategies to improve practice across the school, most notably in writing, spelling, punctuation and grammar.

“Milestones are realistic and linked clearly to specific outcomes for pupils. Lines of accountability are clear.

“You are confident that most of the areas for improvement have been successfully addressed and I would agree.”

Woodnook primary school in Accrington

The inspector said senior leaders at the Hudson Street school monitor the quality of teaching with ‘rigour’ and that this is ‘helping raise standards across most areas of the school’.

Ofsted said the communication with parents about their child’s progress and attainment has improved and are now ‘detailed an informative’.

Ms Iwaskow added: “Governors are clearly committed to driving forward improvements.

“They recognise the importance of developing their roles further so that they hold the school and its senior leaders to account more rigorously than previously.”

The watchdog said further action was needed to develop the school’s website, ensure good year three teaching, and develop the role of the governing body.

No-one was available to comment from the school, which has broken up for the summer holidays.