AN Ofsted inspector returned to Horndon on the Hill Primary School to find "senior leaders and governors are taking effective action to tackle the areas requiring improvement".

In July, the government's education watchdog found the school "required improvement".

Michelle Winter visited the school on November 18 and said that while effective action is being taken, the school still needs to:

*check the accuracy of teachers’ assessments of progress and attainment in mathematics

*set all teachers targets for improvement

*ensure that pupils have more regular opportunities to write at length and that teachers have high expectations of the amount of writing completed in lessons

*ensure governors regularly monitor records of safeguarding checks.

Neil Speight, chairman of the governors, said: "We are pleased the inspector has recognised the improvements in the school and that we have identified a clear way forward as we continue towards our target of being an outstanding school.

"The inspector’s visit has highlighted areas where we need to improve further - notably in maths but also in writing – and she also stressed the need for accurate assessment of teaching standards and ensuring we maximise on the support we receive from the council.

“Her trained eye also spotted an administrative safeguarding error that we have corrected and we are grateful for that, highlighting the need for outside and independent checks.”

John Kent, the council's portfolio holder for education, said: "The school is a happy one with a new and determined governing body which has set out exactly what it needs to do to improve."