A school which was told it could do better has vowed to do so and help pupils realise their full potential.

Larkman Primary School was issued with a notice to improve by Ofsted inspectors following their visit to the Clarkson Road school last month.

Inspectors wanted the school, which has 284 pupils aged between five and 11, to focus on raising attainment and accelerating pupil progress at the school following the visit.

However they were pleased with a number of aspects at the school which were rated as good and included extra-curricular provision, engagement with parents and carers, the extent to which pupils feel safe, the extent to which they adopt healthy lifestyles and the effectiveness of care, guidance and support.

Headteacher Alison Clarke said she and her staff were not surprised at the findings of the inspection because the school had already conducted a candid evaluation of the way it worked and had already started to put right the wrongs.

But visit came at such a time when there was not enough time for the changes that had been made at the school to show a significant impact in performance.

Mrs Clarke, who has been at the school since 2008, said: 'If you read the wording of the report, it's very positively written and recognises all the good work that's gone on over the last few years.

'We're confident that when the inspectors revisit us we will be able to show the strategies we've put in place have made an impact and the children will have made progress.'

Since completing its own evaluation the school has already put in place pupil progress meetings which are held every half term and help evaluate the performance of every child to ensure no-one is falling behind.

There is now also much greater rigour in the teaching of basic literacy and numeracy skills with the introduction of weekly extended writing sessions which has generated enthusiasm and improved outcomes for writing, especially amongst boys at the school.

Mrs Clarke said the school would take on board the inspectors' observations and combine them with their own findings to help raise the attainment of all pupils.

Have you got an education story? Call education reporter Steve Downes on 01603 772495.