Ofsted has warned a south Norfolk school that it must improve after being rated as inadequate.Hingham Primary School has been asked to make 'significant improvement' to ensure that pupils make at least adequate progress.

Ofsted has warned a south Norfolk school that it must improve after being rated as inadequate.

Hingham Primary School has been asked to make 'significant improvement' to ensure that pupils make at least adequate progress.

The school, which has 163 pupils on its roll, was inspected over two days in May. The subsequent report praised the pastoral care the youngsters received, but said their academic achievements were not good enough.

Since the school's previous inspection in February 2007, when it was deemed to be performing at a satisfactory level, work has been done to reverse pupils' underachievement in English, but progress overall has been too slow, especially in maths.

Headteacher Valerie Lucas said she was confident that the necessary improvements could be made.

'We know that progress has been too slow in some areas and inspectors recognised that we had an accurate picture of where our school is and that our plans for improvement are firmly rooted in raising standards,' she said.

'We have already been successful in improving progress in English and are now focussing on raising standards in maths with the support of our new deputy headteacher.

'With the ongoing support of our parents, staff, governors and the county council, I am confident that we can bring about the improvements necessary and our school can continue to progress.'

The report acknowledged the school's good efforts to make pupils feel safe, behave well, adopt healthy lifestyles, develop their social awareness and contribute to the wider community, but showed less urgency in raising their academic achievements.

It said: 'Pupils' work in Year 6 indicates that many are working at above average levels, especially in English, and that progress is improving. However, achievement has been inadequate over the last three years and is still not good enough in mathematics or science.'

The report said the quality of teaching was satisfactory and the curriculum was 'interesting', but pupils had no incentive to take pride in their work nor was there enough regular checks on their progress.