A VILLAGE primary school is celebrating after seeing it's Ofsted score go from 'requires improvement' to 'good'.

Cotford St Luke Primary School received its latest rating in a report published on May 10. 

Headteacher, James Geen, says the positive rating is what the school deserves although he recognises it has been a long journey. 

The school had previously been rated as 'requires improvement'.

He said: "This is wonderful recognition for all the hard work and support of everyone associated with the school in recent years - staff, parents, the PTA, governors, the community and of course the children.

"We finally have the outcome the school deserves.

"We want to thank the parents and carers for the belief and support they have placed in our school.

"The journey to 'good' has been a long and challenging one but we are finally there and we should all celebrate what a fantastic achievement this is not only the school, but for the village and community of Cotford St Luke."

The report identified the quality of teaching, the good progress, and the leaders' understanding of the school. 

Jonathan Dyer, lead Ofsted inspector, said: "In a range of subjects, including English and mathematics, pupils make good progress from their various starting points.

"The quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good. Teachers and other adults have high expectations of pupils and plan work that is accurately tailored to meet pupils’ needs.

"They have secure subject knowledge and use questioning effectively, to develop pupils’ understanding. However, there is some lack of clarity around the school’s approach to developing pupils’ reasoning skills in mathematics."

The inspectors also outlined some areas in which the school can further improve, including: to further develop quality of teaching, to strengthen the progress of disadvantaged pupils, and to strengthen leadership and management. 

Mr Geen, who is set to leave the school in September, added: "The report helpfully identifies some targeted areas where we can continue to make improvements. We were already aware of, had started working on, several of these and we will continue to do so moving forward. 

"As you can imagine, we are extremely pleased that the inspectors recognised the significant efforts made by all involved in the school to make improvements in recent years.

"Although the school will experience some change over the coming months, we are confident that with the core of fantastic staff, a supportive group of parents and carers, an effective governing board and, above all a great group of children, will ensure that the school continues its positive journey for many years to come."