PUPILS and staff at a Hampshire school are celebrating after inspectors rated it “good”.

North Baddesley Infant School has seen rapid improvements since head teacher Carla Lashmar took over the reins in September 2016, according to the report by Ofsted.

It says that following a period of decline since its last inspection in January 2012, when it was rated outstanding, she has been the driving force behind its progress and reinvigorated the whole school in her first year in charge.

The report particularly praised the head teacher’s strong and principled leadership since her appointment, commenting: "She has led many improvements to tackle areas of weakness effectively."

It outlines how one member of staff explained that: "The headteacher has opened the doors of the school to the community."

Ofsted did however find there were some areas of improvement needed such as in teaching and learning to improve the outcomes of school time for all pupils, by ensuring that teachers planned and adapted their lessons to meet all pupils’ needs, particularly those children least and most able.

The inspectors also stated governors needed to focus more on pupil outcomes to be able effectively evaluate the school's progress.

Ofsted highlighted that pupils' behaviour was good and the school was a happy, purposeful community. The report added: "Parents are highly supportive of the school and greatly value the care that their children receive."

Mrs Lashmar said: “The last inspection was five years ago. Since then Ofsted has changed the framework twice, making it much harder achieve or maintain the requirements of an outstanding report result.

"We have been through quite a period of change and we are currently expanding the school, so I am proud of our achievements and the collaborative work of our staff, governors, pupils and parents.”

She also told the Daily Echo that upon her arrival she straight away implemented a three-year improvement plan, which highlighted areas in need of improvement, so it was of no shock to herself or her staff the content of the most recent Ofsted report.

The village school opened in 1876, becoming an infant school in 1969. Current building work is expected to come fully into use during the 2018 school summer term.

This will provide three new classrooms, new outdoor learning space and will increase the school’s capacity from its current 210 to 270 children.

FACT FILE

Type: Infant

Category: Community

Age range: 5 to 7

Gender: Mixed

Number of pupils on roll: 210

Chair of governors: Nicole Perry

Head teacher: Carla Lashmar