A VILLAGE school has been told it must improve, after a critical report by inspectors.

Millbrook School in Grove has been rated ‘inadequate’ and given a notice to improve after Ofsted visitors spent two days there in April.

The village’s largest school, which has 460 pupils, had been rated ‘good’ in its last inspection in November 2006.

The inspection report was published this week and said the teaching and pupils’ achievement was satisfactory, and student behaviour was good.

But it blamed poor leadership for the school’s overall rating.

It said: “This is not a satisfactory school because inadequate leadership and management have led to a decline in pupils’ achievement.”

Lead inspector Susan Williams said teachers should be held to account and recommended setting clear targets for staff and pupils.

Headteacher Sarah Weston said a lot of positive notes had been made in the report.

She added: “We would stress that the important things required to secure ongoing school improvement are already in place here at Millbrook and we are confident that attainment will rise. We are in a strong position to improve future attainment in Year 2 and at the end of Key Stage 2.”

Inspectors also found incidents of bullying were rare and they said parents felt their children were safe and had good relationships with the teachers.

Chair of governors Jenny Smith said: “We would like to pay tribute to all the staff at the school who, as a dedicated team, continue to work tirelessly for the young pupils in our care.

“We would also like to thank parents for their ongoing support and encouragement.”

The school is part of the Wantage Area Schools Partnership.

Simon Spiers, headteacher at King Alfred’s Academy, said all schools would work together to improve.

He said: “I would stress there are huge positives about education at Millbrook and it’s clear the children have lots of great experiences while they are there.

”I’m sure the leadership team and governors will be taking on board the points made in the report. And most importantly, they have the staff and pupils and parental support in place to ensure the school improves rapidly.”