Staff at a primary school in Wooburn Green say they are “disappointed” at being placed in special measures after a “difficult period.”

The Meadows School, in School Road, will now become a sponsored academy after the results of an Ofsted inspection, published on January 27, rated it “inadequate” and put it in special measures.

Inspectors noted that the school has suffered “significant instability” in the teaching and leadership team since it was last inspected in July 2014.

After the previous head teacher resigned in July 2015, the school was run by two interim leaders until two permanent head teachers, Emma O’Leary and Jo Moore, joined in September last year.

The inspection found that pupils’ achievement is inadequate and that they make “insufficient progress in reading, writing and mathematics because they have had inadequate teaching over time.”

Reading and writing was found not to be taught “well enough” and not all pupils feel safe at school.

Pupils were also found not to behave “as well as they should” and that the curriculum is “narrow and restricts learning in certain subjects, particularly science.”

The report said: “The school has been through a difficult period without a substantive head teacher until the start of this autumn term. In the past three years, there have been several different head teachers.

“A number of other leaders and teachers left and joined the school. The significant and constant instability in staffing has meant that previous weaknesses have not been addressed and pupils have a legacy of underachievement.”

However, the report recognised that improvements are now being made with the governors working in “close partnership” with the new head teachers, and that children in the early years “feel safe and behave well.”

The report said: “The new head teachers, with the full support of governors, have made a positive start and enjoy the confidence of parents and staff. They have implemented a programme of training and development to help teachers to improve their skills.”

Inspectors recommended that the school needs to create a “climate and culture of safety” by eliminating “issues of bullying and boisterous behaviour.”

A statement from the school said they were disappointed with the rating, but that they “recognise that the findings of the report are consistent with everything the school’s governors and senior leadership team are already working to resolve.”

They also said the move to becoming an academy was a “positive outcome”, adding: “Becoming an academy should give The Meadows access to all the support it needs to build on the programme of improvement already begun.

Sheila Pikulski, chair of the governing board, said: “The Meadows’ team, led by the head teachers, has been working hard to make changes and improvements, and we believe this is already seeing good results.

“We are committed to working with staff and parents to give the children the best school experience possible and make up for past inadequacies.”