Inspectors who visited the Stratford Road school in May gave it a grade of four, which, under the education watchdog's rating system, is the lowest grade that can be awarded and is translated as 'inadequate'.

Inspector Lois Furness, in a report sent to the school, said: "The standards overall are below average and despite some improvement, pupils' progress remains too variable. This is because the quality of teaching is not good enough and is quite fragile."

Suggestions for improvement in the report included setting challenging targets, providing regular feedback to teachers and giving pupils the chance to assess for themselves how well they are doing.

But acting headteacher Janet Paget was praised for her "good determination" to drive the school forward, and the report also noted: "Although achievement is not good enough, pupils are attentive, enjoy their work and try hard to succeed."

Ms Paget said the school has begun a programme of improvement with support from Warwickshire County Council, the local authority responsible for education.

She said: "Everyone at the school is totally committed to making the necessary improvements to provide the best education we can for all our children.

"We are working with the local authority who will be rigorously monitoring our progress over the next 12 months and we have already introduced targets to assess achievement in reading, writing and maths.

"We will also be consulting more with our parents about their children's attainment."

Lorrie Cooper, the county council's principal primary schools inspector, said: "The Ofsted report highlights the good behaviour, wellbeing and eagerness to learn of all pupils.

"This coupled with the dedication of staff and governors gives us a very strong foundation for resolving the school's issues.

"The county council is confident that, with our continued support, Lighthorne Heath can make the necessary improvements to come out of this 'notice to improve' category when it is inspected again next year."

To view the full report, visit www.ofsted.gov.uk and follow the links for 'inspection reports', 'West Midlands' and 'Warwickshire'.