A PRIMARY School placed under special measures after a failing Ofsted report is fighting to improve.

St Michael's C of E Primary School, in Melksham, was placed in the bottom five per cent in the country after an inspection carried out in November but staff, parents and governors are already working to makes things better.

Acting headteacher Jan Ball, who took over in January, said: "We have drawn up an action plan that lists all areas for improvement, what we are going to do and how we are going to do it."

The Ofsted report criticised the teaching standards, leadership and management at the school.

It also highlighted the need to improve pupils' achievements in maths, English, science, religious education and information technology.

Wiltshire County Council has appointed education adviser Andrew Folker, a previous head at the school, to work with staff and this week he will accompany Mrs Ball and the chairman of the governors, Ian Lavery, to meet with representatives from Her Majesty's Inspectorate to discuss the action plan.

Mrs Ball said: "Then it is just head down and work through key issues to make sure the children have the sort of school they deserve.

"Everyone was bruised after the report parents, children and teachers but the school feels good. It isn't an unhappy place."

The report did praise the school's autism centre, where specialist staff teach youngsters who come from as far afield as Malmsbury, Chippenham and Warminster.

To help improve standards the school has an extra teacher starting after Easter, reducing class sizes from around 35 pupils to 25.

Work has already started on improving the environment for pupils, with new sink units in several classrooms, a redecorated main hall and new fencing outside the school.

The children now have a special celebration tree to mark their achievements in both work and behaviour.

Several parents did remove their children from the school but most are keen to give it their support.

Mrs Ball said: "I just want to restore confidence in the school and I'm really pleased with how supportive the vast majority of parents have been."

Parents are being kept up-to-date with how the school and their children are doing at a series of parents' evenings and they will be consulted on the action plan.

The school has also just been subject to a separate inspection, only carried out on church schools, which commended the efforts being made. The report said: "After an extremely difficult period the present acting headteacher, governors and staff are working hard to unite the school and are moving forward with a positive approach, developing and maintaining secure relationships within the school and the community."

The school will be visited by Ofsted inspectors again in the summer and then each term after that, and the school has two years to improve while under special measures.

l A report in last week's Wiltshire Times said the former headteacher of St Michael's School, Linda Smith, resigned after an Ofsted inspection at the school.

We've been asked to point out that Mrs Smith actually resigned before the inspection took place.

We apologise for any distress this may have caused Mrs Smith or the school.