Ofsted praise for school taking '˜effective action' to improve

The school, in Crooked Lane, was rated ‘requires improvement’ in November 2016 and recently underwent its first monitoring inspection.

In her report, inspector Kathryn Moles said headteacher Mark McCadden and his team were taking “effective action” to tackle the areas highlighted for improvement in 2016.

She added: “Leaders know their school well. They understand that improving pupils’ progress remains an urgent priority, despite the evident improvements to pupils’ outcomes over the last academic year.

“Along with their staff, they are committed to raising standards further, so that pupils are prepared well for life beyond Birdham Primary.”

Ms Moles said most year groups showed “encouraging improvement” in reading, writing and maths, with achievements at the end of Key Stage 2 described as “notable”.

Mr McCadden said the report reflected the hard work of everyone at the school, adding: “It highlights many improvements and shows how we are carefully monitoring the quality of teaching and learning.

“Almost all year groups showed encouraging improvements in reading, writing and mathematics and we will continue to focus on these as areas to build upon.

"Overall we are very pleased with this monitoring visit report and our progress so far but we are not complacent. We remain firmly committed to ensuring our pupils perform to the very best of their abilities and that the school returns to being judged as good or better at our next inspection.”