A PRIMARY school, which was graded as “inadequate” last year, has now come out of “special measures”.

Bramley Church of England Primary School was given the scathing verdict by education watchdog Ofsted in January after inspectors listed a catalogue of failings, including pupil achievement, the leadership and management of the school, and the quality of teaching. Pupil behaviour was said to “require improvement”.

But 10 months on, the watchdog has given the 398-pupil school a rating of “requires improvement” overall, while grading leadership and management as “good.”

Former headteacher Ann Berresford left following the “inadequate” grading. It was the second time Bramley Primary was given the lowest Ofsted grading while being led by Miss Berresford, who was head at the Bramley Lane school in 2009, when it was given a “notice to improve” by Ofsted.

Lyn Downes, who took over as the interim head following Miss Berresford’s departure, said: “We are delighted that the hard work of the school staff in raising attainment is recognised, and especially pleased that the school is no longer in the ‘special measures’ category.”

The new report, published at the end of last month, said inadequate teaching has been eradica-ted and progress overall has accelerated.

It added: “While there is no doubt that teaching has improved, it is still too variable to be considered good.”

Inspectors said: “There are too many pupils who have gaps in their knowledge, and teaching is not consistently good enough to overcome this previous underachievement.”

However, they noted that much of the teaching is good, and some is outstanding.

The report said: “Pupils sometimes disrupt learning in classes.” This happens because they get over-excited when interesting activities are introduced or because they are not engaged. However, it added that “behaviour around school is generally good”.

The leadership and management of the school was praised by inspectors, who said: “There have been rapid improvements in the last year and, while the school is not yet good, it is moving swiftly in that direction. Leaders have proven that they are able to effectively drive and sustain school improvement.”

The governing body was also said to have improved considerably. The report said: “Their ability to challenge leaders in a constructive way is impressive.”

Nicky Parker, chair of governors, said: “On behalf of the governing body, I would like to thank the staff and also parents for their continued support during this very challenging time.

“Thanks also go to my fellow governors for their support and challenge, and to dedicating themselves to rapid improvement. A great team effort.”