The headteacher of a school criticised by Ofsted inspectors for being ineffective, has said it is up to the challenge of changing its fortunes.

Christina Clark, who runs Winterbourne Nursery and Infant School, found her school placed in special measures after it was labelled very ineffective and giving poor value for money in an Ofsted report.

Mrs Clark, who has been the Thornton Heath school's headteacher for more than three years, said the school had put together an action plan and distributed a summary of it to parents.

The plan shows how the school intends to put right the problems outlined in the report over the next two years with times for each of the initiatives. Inspectors will return to the school in two years' time to check if improvements have been made.

The plan includes: l Creating an in-house training programme to develop teachers' skills and expertise l Restructuring the day for reception children with a high focus on literacy and numeracy l Improving resources for the teaching of reading l Improving the assessment and tracking of the children's achievement l Setting challenging targets for all children to raise standards of attainment and improve achievement in numeracy and literacy.

The school in Winterbourne Road, Thornton Heath, which has 529 pupils, was criticised for its poor school buildings, unsatisfactory teaching in many classes and unsatisfactory leadership following the Ofsted inspection in July.

The report states that standards at the school have slipped since its previous Ofsted inspection in June 1998 and placed it under special measures. A school is deemed to be in special measures if inspectors believe it is failing or likely to fail.

Standards in maths have deteriorated and are now well below average, while standards in reading and writing have also fallen.

But the report praised pupils' attitudes, saying they were polite and courteous and pointed out they receive a sound start in the nursery.

The school has a high number of ethnic minority pupils and 53 per cent of those attending the school do not speak English as a first language.

The action plan says the school is strengthened by its diverse racial and cultural heritage and inspectors praised pupils' acceptance of other religions.

Mrs Clark said: "The school values the support of the Local Education Authority (LEA) and has welcomed the additional funding to implement these initiatives. The school's action plan will be monitored by Her Majesty's inspector on a termly basis and by the LEA each half-term.

"The governing body has held two meetings to which all parents were invited. These were to discuss Ofsted's findings and to share information about the way forward.

"The school has received many positive comments from our parent community. Parents continue to contribute towards ongoing school improvements and are valued as partners in their children's learning.

"As the term comes to an end, parents have been delighted to share their children's achievements and witness their growing confidence, particularly as they participate in end of term performances."

Dave Harvey, Croydon branch secretary for the National Union of Teachers (NUT), representing the majority of teachers at the school, said members were hardworking and supported the school's action plan.

He said: "They are behind this action plan. They are telling me that the school has better morale and works together better at the moment than it has done for a number of years."