INSPECTORS have told Winton Primary School it must make significant improvements.

Ofsted inspectors visited the school in Oswald Road, Bournemouth, in April and found that it needed to improve pupils' achievement and aspects of leadership and management.

In the report published yesterday, inspector John English wrote: "For some years now the teaching has lacked pace and challenge and strategies for checking the pupils' progress were inadequate to identify a steadily growing issue of underachievement by many pupils, as shown by declining results in the national tests at the end of Year 6."

Most aspects of the school were graded as satisfactory but the leadership and management came in for some criticism.

Mr English said: "The senior managers and governors took too long to respond to clear indications of falling standards, and as a result many pupils, particularly in the last two years at the school, have been attaining standards well below those of which they are capable."

Head teacher David Nayler said the report had confirmed the school's own assessment.

He said: "There is much in this report that is good and of which the school can be very proud.

"Children enjoy learning and coming to school and they are taught a broad and well-balanced curriculum. There is a wide range of exciting extra-curricular activities on offer. Pupils are well- behaved, feel safe in school and their social development is good.

"However, the staff and governors acknowledged at the beginning of this school year that standards of attainment and progress as demonstrated by Key Stage 2 SATs results were not what they should be."

An action plan had been in place since last September to address some of the issues but it had not yet had sufficient impact on children's progress.

Mr Nayler added: "With the guidance provided by the inspection team and the continued support of the local authority, the action plan will be further amended for the coming academic year and the governors and staff have every confidence that the required improvements will take place rapidly."

Di Mitchell, head of inclusion and achievement for Bournemouth Council, said the school would be given a head teacher mentor to assist with changes, as well as additional support from school improvement staff and governor services. A parent champion has also been appointed to attend the priority support group.

"The appointment of a new head teacher starting in September will take forward the work started by the current head and we expect to move forward quickly."