A SCHOOL governor has written a letter of reassurance to parents following a “disappointing” Ofsted inspection.

Middlestone Moor Primary School, near Spennymoor, was judged as “Requiring Improvement” by inspectors who visited in October this year.

The report states that the quality of teaching is variable, that teachers do not consistently pitch work at a level that enables pupils to make consistently good progress and that the quality of pupils’ writing is mixed.

Neil Davies, chair of the governors, has since written to parents to say that governors and staff are “deeply disappointed with the outcome given the passion, dedication and hard work that is done by the whole school community.”

The letter reads: “Whilst we are disappointed with the overall judgement we are pleased that inspectors recognised many of the strengths of the school.

“Whilst we value the schools many strengths we are not complacent and have complete confidence in the leadership team to quickly address the recommendations made.

“Ours and leaders’ views of the overall effectiveness of the school do not fully match that of the inspectors who were in school only briefly, but school leaders recognise the areas for improvement and are already working diligently to address these issues.”

Mr Davies also said that work undertaken by staff had led to a rise in outcomes in Early Years and key stage 1 and that he is proud of the achievements.

The school was last inspected in July 2013 when it was rated as “Good” across the board.

The most recent report praises the headteacher and staff for having established a “distinctive ethos where pupils are consistently polite, considerate and supportive of one another.”

The report adds: “Effective planning, teaching and assessment has enabled pupils to make good and consistently improving progress in the early years.”

Inspectors have suggested that the school implements new strategies in mathematics, enhance reading skills, build on recent success at key stage 1 and track the progress of pupils with special educational needs to support progress.

To view the full report visit: reports.ofsted.gov.uk