A LOWESTOFT primary school has been branded inadequate and told it must improve, after a visit by government inspectors.

Officials from Ofsted visited Fen Park Primary, on Lovewell Road, last month and now the school has been given notice to improve, meaning that positive changes must be made before the next inspection.

The school was given an overall rating of 'inadequate', down from the 'satisfactory' it received after its previous inspection in February 2008.

The latest report by Ofsted said: 'Significant improvement is required in relation to meeting requirements for safeguarding procedures, the leadership of the headteacher, the effectiveness of the governing body, the effectiveness of the school's procedures for self-evaluation and in reducing levels of absence.

'While the school provides an acceptable standard of education, with pupils making satisfactory progress overall, and good progress in the early years foundation stage, its capacity for sustained improvement is inadequate.

'This is because the headteacher and other leaders are not driving forward improvement at an appropriate rate.'

Problems identified included inconsistencies in the accuracy of assessment, long-term absences among the leadership staff and misunderstandings in communication.

However, the report praised the way that the school encourages children to adopt healthy lifestyles, relationships between staff and their teachers and said that pupils have made good progress in the early years foundation classes. Behaviour and achievement were both rated 'satisfactory'.

Fen Park Primary currently has 216 pupils on its roll, but that number is due to increase from next September when year five and six students remain at the school following the closure of the town's middle schools in July.

The full report is available online at www.ofsted.gov.uk