A school has been ordered to make improvements after being branded “weak” in several areas by inspectors.
Education Scotland staff visited Towie Primary School and Nursery near Alford, which has 53 youngsters on its roll from across Upper Donside.
While the nursery received ratings of “good” in all of the areas it was examined, the primary school received two satisfactory marks and two weak – the equivalent of a two out of six.
Inspectors were critical of its teaching and leadership.
They said that in most lessons, children were not being “sufficiently engaged” and would benefit from more opportunities to be independent.
Teachers were told to improve how they assess pupils’ literacy and numeracy so their progress can be tracked more easily.
Education Scotland’s report into the inspection said: “HM Inspectors are not confident in the reliability and robustness of the school’s attainment data.”
It added that the information which was provided by the school was not an accurate reflection of children’s abilities and that it is “evident” that most could be making better progress in maths and numeracy.
The school’s approaches to raising achievement, as well as its focus on well-being and equality, were both ranked “satisfactory”.
The report said that all of the children spoken to said they enjoy school and that inspectors had noted a “calm and relaxed” atmosphere during classes.
An Aberdeenshire Council spokeswoman said: “We recognise that progress is needed to improve quality indicators for the primary stages.
“Inspectors recognised strengths in the school’s focus on developing children’s understandings of their feelings and those of their peers, leading to learning in a calm and purposeful learning environment.
“However, they also noted that progress is needed in leading improvements, in developing consistently high quality approaches to learning, in reviewing the school’s curriculum and in developing processes for tracking and monitoring progress.”
She added: “Quality improvement officers are already working closely with the school’s management team to begin to work on these improvements and will continue to monitor progress.”