A SCHOOL in Worcester that was deemed to be failing is making good progress since its last inspection.

Government inspectors said standards were improving at Gorse Hill Primary School and pupils' progress was accelerating. The school, in Holly Mount Road, Tolladine, was placed in special measures by Ofsted in March 2006 after inspectors said it was failing to give pupils an adequate education.

Since then it has had five monitoring inspections, the latest of which took place earlier this month, showing the school has made many improvements.

The inspectors said: "Rates of progress are accelerating and almost two thirds of the pupils are currently making satisfactory progress. Since the previous inspection, the proportion of pupils making good progress in reading has increased from 27 per cent to 51 per cent, in writing from 29 per cent to 46 per cent, and in mathematics from 31 per cent to 47 per cent."

Headteacher Vivienne Cranton said she was delighted with the latest report. "We are extremely pleased," she said. "Everyone has worked incredibly hard. We are delighted the inspectors recognised we are doing so well and we hope to come out of special measures soon."

The inspectors said the quality of teaching and learning at the school had improved, with 40 per cent of the lessons seen during the inspection deemed to be good.

"Lessons are better planned, with most teachers using assessment to provide a range of work to suit the pupils' different learning needs, which helps them make better progress."

However, the inspectors said the school still had some way to go with the gap between what the pupils should be achieving for their age and what they are currently achieving still being too wide. They said: "Only half the pupils are working at the level they should be at for their age and almost a third of the pupils are making unsatisfactory progress."

"Year six remain very low, with only 42 per cent at the level expected for their age. Nevertheless, there is cause for optimism and an important corner has been turned. The school has been successful in halting the decline in the pupils' progress and the standards they are reaching and the trend in achievement is now firmly upward."

GORSE HILL PRIMARY SCHOOL: WHAT THE INSPECTOR SAID

What the school does well

In each year group, and particularly in years five and six, pupils' books and writing on display in classrooms and corridors show examples of good quality work.

Pupils' attitudes to work have improved because of the very positive behaviour management strategies introduced since the last inspection.

Pupils concentrate for longer periods because they are finding their work more interesting, for example in topics such as Heroes and Villains.

Lessons are better planned, with most teachers using assessment to provide a range of work to suit the pupils' different learning needs, which helps them make better progress.

Teaching assistants give good support to individuals and groups of pupils in writing lessons, helping them make at least satisfactory and sometimes good progress.

What could be improved

Overall standards are still low and weaknesses in sentence structure, spelling and handwriting persist, with just under half the pupils working at levels appropriate for their ages.

The pace of learning is slower when the introductions to lessons are too long or when pupils are provided with limited opportunities to discuss their work and clarify their understanding.

There are inconsistencies in the way work is marked, teachers are making better use of marking to illustrate areas for development and show pupils what they need to do next to improve.

In the nursery class, learning objectives identified in planning are not sufficiently reflected in adults' discussions with children during their structured play activities.