Disadvantaged pupils at Lainesmead Primary have been left behind in key subjects for the last two years, according to the school’s recent Ofsted report.

The school, on Southview Avenue, was rated requires improvement in all areas in the report published last week and had previously been rated Good overall.

Although it praised the leadership team for more recent changes it said the quality of teaching in maths and English was affecting students’ progress.

The report said: “Mathematics standards at the end of Key stage two have been below the national average for the last two years, for disadvantaged and the most able pupils. Leaders have not acted swiftly enough to stem the decline and improve the quality of mathematics teaching.

“The pupil premium is not used well enough Disadvantaged pupils’ attainment in reading has been the bottom 20 per cent nationally for the last two years. Leaders have only recently got a clear picture about the impact of the spending to raise pupils’ achievements.”

But it added: “The school adopted an approach to teaching all subjects through a range of texts with a focus on improving outcomes. However, although it is too early to evaluate the full impact of the restructure, pupils who read with inspectors demonstrated positive reading skills that were at least in line with what is expected for their age.”

Mrs Painter, headteacher of Lainsmead Primary and Nursery, said: “The Ofsted report shows that as a leadership team we are fully aware and have an accurate view of the strengths and weaknesses of the school and that we had already correctly identified priorities for improvement.

She added: “The Governors and leadership team of the school are working closely with the Local Authority to address all areas in order to rapidly improve attainment across all subjects.

“The report identifies that improvements are already being made in key areas, including reading, writing and maths, and that there is a clear strategy for analysing the impact of these improvements.

Parents will be briefed on actions being taken and how they can support the school to get back on track.