A PRIMARY school graded as Requires Improvement more than two years ago has failed to get a higher grade following a visit from Ofsted inspectors.

Hillbourne Primary School in Kitchener Crescent, Poole, keeps the same rating after a team of three government inspectors visited in September.

Their report has just been published and is critical of many aspects of the school.

Lead inspector Geraldine Tidy said: “There is a lack of clarity and ambition about what leaders want pupils to know, understand and be able to do. This is because the curriculum is not planned and sequenced effectively to ensure that pupils know more and remember more.”

The report says not all teachers are sufficiently ambitious for pupils with special educational needs and teachers do not check on pupils’ phonics knowledge well enough to identify pupils at risk of falling behind.

It goes on: “This prevents teachers from providing the targeted support that needs to be given to these pupils to help them keep up.”

The school has 251 pupils between the ages of four and 11, most from a white British background.

Inspectors also made a number of positive comments about the school and said pupils enjoy it there and feel looked after and cared for.

They added: “At all times pupils are well-behaved - they listen to adults and follow instructions. Pupils agree that bullying does not happen very often at the school. If it does, the adults sort it out quickly.

“Pupils understand how to keep themselves safe online and know what to do and who to talk to if they experience any problems.”

Head teacher Helen Roderick said: “We were very pleased that the inspectors recognised the excellent behaviour and personal development of the children at Hillbourne.

“We are very proud of the progress children make at Hillbourne. Last year we had the second best progress scores in Poole. We are confident that with the continued hard work of our staff and support of our parents and local community, we will continue to improve.”