A THIRD school in Cinderford has been placed in special measures.

St Anthony's School was judged inadequate in the same week Ofsted inspectors delivered the same verdict to Forest High School.

The report said the school, which converted from an independent

primary in 2013 under the government's 'free school' initiative, was 'too slow' to tackle weaknesses in the quality of teaching.

St White's Primary has been in special measures since December 2013 although a recent report found it is making reasonable progress.

Headteacher of St Anthony's Julie James said: "The school is very disappointed with the result of the inspection in May. The transition from the independent sector to a free school in September 2013 has brought many challenges which we have been addressing, but the inspectors did not feel that the progress made by the time of the inspection was quick enough.

"We have received many messages of support from parents and will continue to work hard to improve standards of teaching and learning throughout the school."

The report found children in the early years 'do not make enough progress in writing and mathematics' and teachers do not expect 'enough' of their pupils.

Inspectors also criticised leaders' 'over-generous' view of the school's performance.

The Review reported last week the new management team at Forest High School 'weren't surprised' about what Ofsted had to say about what was then the Forest E-Act Academy.

A recent inspection at St Whites Primary School found the school is making 'reasonable progress towards the removal of special measures' and the school may appoint 'newly-qualified teachers' before the next inspection.

The report said that there is a 'strong focus on improving pupils' achievement and teachers are increasingly knowledgeable about pupils' progress,' also the headteacher is providing the 'strong leadership' needed to implement the school's improvement priorities.