A school previously rated "outstanding" has been dealt a blow after receiving the lowest possible score by the education watchdog.

Hazlehurst Community Primary School in Ramsbottom has been given an overall ranking of "inadequate" by Ofsted following its latest inspection.

The Geoffrey Street school was previously awarded the highest possible rating of "outstanding" but had not been inspected since 2011 due to an exemption by law.

Its quality of education and leadership and management, were both judged to be "inadequate" while behaviour and attitudes and early years provisions were both deemed as "requires improvement".

Personal development was judged to be "good".

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Following a review in March this year, inspectors found that while “pupils are proud to attend this happy and welcoming school” its “leaders’ ambitions for pupils’ academic achievement is too low".

The Ofsted report said: “Leaders have a weak knowledge of effective curriculum design. Many subjects are not taught frequently enough to ensure that pupils develop a strong body of knowledge over time.

“Some leaders have recognised that their curriculums do not support pupils well enough to know more and remember more. However, they have been too slow to address these weaknesses.

“Pupils at the end of Key Stage 1 attained outcomes significantly below that of their peers nationally. Moreover, many pupils, across different subjects and classes, remember little of what they have been taught.

"Some pupils do not recall being taught any lessons in some subjects.

However, inspectors noted that staff in the early years “forge strong relationships with children, as a result, children settle in well and enjoy learning and playing together".

The report added: “Pupils’ personal development enjoys a high profile across the school. Pupils spoke fondly about the different ways that their teachers support them to manage their emotions and feelings.

“They also enjoy spending time with the school’s therapy dog, Saint, who supports pupils across the school.”

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In a statement on the school’s website, the school said while is does not agree with outcome of the inspection, it is “committed to embedding the required improvements suggested as a matter of upmost urgency.”

The statement added: “Our current team of staff are working extremely hard to further improve pupil outcomes, and it is a testament to our teaching team, that some of the adjustments we need to make have already been implemented.  

“We are working alongside Prestolee Multi Academy Trust, via brokered support from Bury Local Authority, to develop our curriculum and strengthen leadership.

“This process has been an extremely stressful and difficult time for the staff at Hazlehurst CP School, and the governing body would like to publicly thank them for the resilience and commitment that they have shown over the past three months.”