Council chiefs have promised to turn around the fortunes of an Aberdeen following a poor report.
The Education Scotland team who visited Muirfield School said it needed to do more to cater for the requirements of pupils.
In a letter to parents, inspectors said: “Across all stages, there is an urgent need to improve how children’s needs are met.
“Current arrangements for meeting children’s needs are unsatisfactory. Overall, tasks and activities are not sufficiently well matched to the varied learning needs of all children.”
The letter said the onus was on the head teacher and staff to bring about change.
“Aberdeen City Council has supported the school in identifying strengths and weaknesses in learning and teaching, and in the curriculum,” the inspectors said.
“However, the head teacher and her staff have not used this knowledge to bring about improvements.
“The pace and progress of improvement has also been hindered by frequent changes of staff.
“Overall, significant improvements are needed to the curriculum, learning and teaching to ensure children’s attainment and achievements improve.”
Education Scotland’s area lead officer for Aberdeen has agreed to work with the city council on a range of issues facing the Mastrick-based school.
A further inspection will be made within six months at the Mastrick-based school to see how much the school has improved.
Councillor Angela Taylor, convener of the city council’s education and children’s services committee, said there were positives to take from the review.
“This report identifies key strengths and areas for improvement,” she said.
“It acknowledges the politeness and commitment to learning of the pupils, as well as the successful work done in the nursery to meet the broad development needs of its children and the innovative development of the outdoor facilities for teaching and learning.
“Support led by the local authority is now in place so that the school can take the necessary steps to ensure that their learning needs are met across the school. I am confident that these will be reflected in the next report.”