A primary school has been told it must improve after an Ofsted inspection.

Standards at Takeley Primary School, in Dunmow, have slipped since its last inspection in 2015 when it was rated good.

The school was converted into an academy in January 2016 and headteacher Andy Cosslett took up his post in September 2017.

But inspectors say four out of five areas need to improve, with only the personal development, behaviour and welfare of pupils being rated good.

The report, published on Friday, said: “Leaders do not monitor with enough precision the teaching of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities.

“This means teachers do not always provide the required support for these pupils and, as a result, these pupils make inconsistent progress over time.

“While many parents and carers are positive about improvements over the past 12 months, a significant minority of parents raised concerns about poor communication between home and school.

“These parents are concerned they do not have enough information about what happens during school, how well their children are progressing and how they can help their children make better progress.”

The school has 392 pupils on roll, aged between four and 11.

The proportion of pupils who are supported for special educational needs and/or disabilities is below average.

The report added: “Leaders have identified that, other than in English and mathematics, pupils’ learning over time has not developed the knowledge and skills they will need to make a strong start to secondary school.

“The most able pupils do not consistently make the progress or attain the results of which they are capable.

“From broadly typical starting points on entry to Reception, children make inconsistent progress.

“The outdoor provision, for example, is not of a good enough standard. As a result, children are not well supported across the whole curriculum.”

A spokesman for Learning Partnership Trust said: "This was the first inspection as a new academy.

"The Ofsted judgement was that the school requires improvement.

"The trust, school governors, and staff are all disappointed with this judgement, but it is unfortunately where we knew the school to be at this moment in time, despite the hard work of the last two years.

"The report and the inspectors during the two inspection days recognised the significant progress made over the last year by new head teacher Mr Cosslett and his new leadership team."