A Worcester school which was put into special measures six months ago is still failing its pupils.

But the acting head says she is confident the school can be turned round if it is given time.

Inspectors returned to Warndon Primary School last month and said the school had made inadequate progress.

Worcestershire County Council said it was considering all options to support the school, including turning it into a sponsored academy.

The school in Edgeworth Close, Warndon, was first rated inadequate in June last year when inspectors found standards had fallen and pupils’ results were well below average.

In January, a monitoring inspection found children in key stage one were still making insufficient progress and their attainment in reading, writing and mathematics was well below average.

Children in key stage two were making satisfactory progress, with rapid progress made in year six thanks to good teaching.

However, by then, pupils were working to catch up on previously lost ground.

Inadequate progress was also being made to improve leadership partly because headteacher Simon Tranter had been absent since November.

The county council said it was unable to say why Mr Tranter was absent.

In his absence, the school’s deputy head Sarah Allen is acting headteacher, with the support of Di Smith, headteacher at Abbeywood in Redditch.

Inspectors found Miss Allen had an accurate view of the school’s strengths and weaknesses but was also having to maintain her role as deputy head.

They felt it was too early to say whether changes made to the governing body would help.

Inspectors also found there had been a decline in the quality of leadership, management and provision in Early Years Foundation Stage.

However, the school had achieved one of Ofsted’s targets by working “tirelessly” to improve attendance, which has risen rapidly.

Inspectors rated progress as “good” in that respect.

The children were praised for being keen and enthusiastic and having good relationships with their teachers.

In a statement, Miss Allen said the school was disappointed to be in special measures.

She said: “We are working closely with the local authority and an improvement plan targeted at each of these areas for improvement has been put in place.

Although we are confident of seeing results, it will take time for these measures to take effect as indicated in the recent monitoring visit."

Jill Georgiou, chairman of the governors, said: “We would like to thank the parents of all our pupils for their support in ensuring the children’s attendance has improved and they come to school keen and ready to learn.”

However, when asked how the governing body would hold the school to account, she declined to answer.

John Edwards, the council’s head of learning and achievement, said that the council was pleased with some of the progress made but it would take time for other improvements to be seen.