A PRIMARY school in Herefordshire has been told by Ofsted inspectors that it is need of significant improvement, with concerns over the safety of pupils.

School inspectorate Ofsted said Stoke Prior Primary School, near Leominster, had fallen from the top level of outstanding to the bottom of inadequate over the last five years.

After a two-day inspection, inspectors said staff and leaders know the pupils and their families well at the small school, but bosses had not done enough to ensure that all pupils are kept as safe as possible.

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The pair, Rachel Henrick and Kate Wilcock, said not all concerns were recorded in full or followed up by staff or leaders and this put pupils at risk of harm.

They said in the report, published in January, that pupils, who behaved well, enjoyed their lessons but, in some subjects, the curriculum was not well thought out.

There was also praise for how pupils enjoyed the range of extra-curricular clubs on offer. From yoga to gardening, there is something for everyone and everyone can join in. Any bullying was also said to be sorted by staff.

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But the inspectors said leaders at the school, with 94 pupils aged between four and 11 years old, did not carry out some of their responsibilities well enough. They said that included safeguarding, which was labelled "not effective".

While they said leaders cared about all pupils, they did not make sure staff recorded all concerns they may have had about a pupil’s wellbeing or safety. The systems for recording concerns were said to be "weak", "not understood by all staff" and "lack important detail".

Inspectors said the curriculum and what children needed to learn needed work, but adaptations were made to support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

There was praise though for the learning mentor support initiative and staff were said to appreciate the way that leaders were mindful of their workload.

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After the inspection in September 2022, the school was rated inadequate overall, with the quality of education requiring improvement, behaviour and attitudes said to be good, personal development requiring improvement, leadership and management said to be inadequate and early years provision also good.

The inspector said that to improve, the school, under the leadership of headteacher Matt Lewis, needs to prioritise safeguarding, put in place a systematic phonics programme, identify what pupils need to learn and make sure there is a well-thought-out and well-sequenced curriculum to support pupils’ personal development.

The report finished: "His Majesty’s chief inspector is of the opinion that this school requires significant improvement because it is performing significantly less well than it might in all the circumstances reasonably be expected to perform."