Leaders and governors at a junior school have 'presided over its decline', according to a report by inspectors.

Wroughton Junior School has been rated 'inadequate' by Ofsted – the lowest ranking it can give.

Lead inspector Declan McCarthy and his deputies Janet Tomkins and Debra Flowerdew, visited the school on March 17 and 18 and stated in their report that teaching was inadequate and expectations of pupils was often low.

They wrote: 'Since the last inspection, leaders and governors have presided over the school's decline and have failed to steer its improvement.

'Significant changes in leadership and governance and a high turnover of staff have led to a decline both in the quality of teaching and overall standards.'

In 2012 and 2014, inspectors said the school in Burgh Road, Gorleston was ranked as 'requiring improvement'.

The report continued: 'Standards have fallen since the last inspection, with a steady decline over the past three years. In 2015, too many pupils did not achieve as well as they should.

'The gap in the attainment and progress of disadvantaged pupils and other pupils nationally is widening.

'A high turnover of staff since the last inspection has led to a sharp decline in the quality of teaching, in pupils' learning and in the standards pupils are achieving.'

A majority of parents who had completed Ofsted's online questionnaire, stated they would not recommend this school to others.

Inspectors praised the new interim headteacher, Brendan McCarney, who retired as the headteacher of Caister Infant School after 15 years, last July.

They said with support from the acting head of school and the new governors Mr McCarney is: 'providing strong direction for improvement. As a result, staff morale is improving.'

Another area of concern was the attainment of poorer pupils, as the report stated: 'Leaders are not promoting equality of opportunity well enough as not all groups of pupils are achieving as much as they should.

'Leaders are not using pupil premium funding effectively enough to narrow the gaps in attainment between disadvantaged pupils and other pupils nationally.'

Mr McCarney said: 'This judgment isn't good enough and we're working hard to turn things around.

'In the short time I've been here, and as inspectors have noted in their report, we know where we need to improve and are making immediate changes to get us back on track.

'This school has many of the makings of a 'good' school: staff morale is getting better, attendance has improved to a level where we're now above the national average, as has been highlighted by inspectors, and our children are punctual for lessons, and arrive well prepared and ready to learn.

'I too have been impressed by the children's behaviour – they're very well-mannered and polite, and have a real enthusiasm for learning.

'Now we need to ensure we match their eagerness and commitment by raising standards in teaching and strengthening leadership and management, and we're already addressing these area by making a number of changes to the way we do things.'