A WEST Dorset school has been put in ‘Special Measures’ just five years after it was rated ‘Outstanding’.

Parents at Loders School near Bridport have been invited to a meeting at 7pm today after the school’s damning Ofsted report.

The school received the Ofsted report on Friday which judged the school to be inadequate. It must come up with an action plan by the end of the week.

Parents were notified by email and letter today.

The school was rated as ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted at its last inspection in 2009 under the headship of Mike Kite but following complaints from parents and teachers about the school’s management Ofsted inspected the school in November.

In his letter to parents Trevor Jameson, chairman of governors, said: “The governing body welcomes the report and accepts its findings in their entirety.

“The report clearly demonstrates how quickly a school can decline when the leadership and management are inadequate. Equally, a school under new management can just as quickly recover. This is now our collective aim.

“The school, under the joint leadership of Mrs McGrath and Ms Beecham, teachers of children in Years 2 and 3, supported by an experienced local headteacher and backed by Dorset Local Authority and Salisbury Diocesan Education Department, is putting together an action plan to address all the issues highlighted in the report.”

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The current head Shirley Gibbs has not returned to the school after the Christmas break.

Among the issues highlighted in the report are the ineffective’ leadership who have not ensured teaching is of a sufficiently high quality, poor morale and lack of confidence in the head teachers, pupils not making rapid enough or sustained progress and pupils’ behaviour.

The report did say that children are well cared for, attendance is good, do well by the end of Key Stage 2 and those with special needs are well provided for and achieve well.