A Gorleston school is taking steps in the right direction after it was told that it requires improvement.

Lynn Grove Academy, in Gorleston, was judged to require improvement after an inspection by Ofsted in May.

The education inspectors returned in September to see whether the school had been taking steps to move back in the right direction.

A letter from Her Majesty's Inspector, John Mitcheson, to the academy's headteacher Alison Mobbs, said that senior leaders and governors are taking 'effective action' to tackle the areas requiring improvement in order to become a good school.

Since the last inspection, 17 new teachers have joined the academy, seven of whom are newly qualified. A new assistant vice-principal has joined the senior leadership team and a new head of English started this term. Mr Mitcheson also said that training and coaching for staff and weekly 'learning walks' by the leadership team, who share the results with staff to highlight what is done well and what needs further improvement, were also effective.

Ms Mobbs said: 'We agree that there is work to be done to close the achievement gap between disadvantaged pupils and other pupils. It is a national challenge but one that every member of staff at Lynn Grove is wholeheartedly embracing'

'Our learning walk confirmed that improvements in teaching are underway but that more needs to be done to gain greater consistency.'

Mr Mitcheson highlighted areas for further improvement.

'Expectations are rising, but are not always high enough. In mathematics, for example, not all younger pupils are challenged fully because teachers plan work that is too easy.

'In design technology, tasks are challenging enough but pupils are not set clear timescales in which to complete work promptly to a high quality. In history, teachers mark pupils' books but do not always correct basic spelling and grammatical errors to help them spot their mistakes and correct them.'

He also noted that the percentage of year 11 pupils attaining five or more good-quality GCSE grades, including English and mathematics rose to over 50pc this year.