AN “INSPIRATIONAL” team of staff have helped a primary school receive a good judgement from Ofsted.

The education watchdog visited Whitchurch Church of England Primary School, in Daniel Road, last month, and a report published last week said it continues to be a good school.

The report, published following a section eight inspection, carried out every four years of schools which are graded as good, said teachers encourage pupils to read a range of good quality books, with pupils borrowing more than 13,000 books from the school library last year.

It said parents have a high regard for the school, which was reflected in comments such as: “The headteacher leads a very compassionate and caring team. They are dedicated, approachable, inspirational and encourage a love of learning.”

Ofsted said pupils enjoy school, and are very caring and look after each other well.

The report said: “They know that their teachers expect them to be ready, respectful and safe. As a result, standards of behaviour are high and bullying is rare.”

Inspectors found that leaders are ambitious for pupils, making sure they learn well in a range of subjects.

They said: “Subject leaders inspire pupils and staff as they share their love of the subjects they lead.”

The curriculum was described as “ambitious”, and inspectors found that during lessons, teachers check that pupils understand what they are learning.

The report said: “They carefully consider how to ensure that pupils who fall behind catch up quickly. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff support pupils well to be ready for any new learning.”

It added: “Leaders are passionate about every pupil being able to read. Teachers use a range of different books to inspire children. Pupils were excited to share what they had learned about the Great Fire of London.”

All 458 pupils at Whitchurch Primary School have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument, which the report said “helps pupils to develop a love and understanding of different types of music”.

They also study differences between cultures, and have links with a school in Uganda.

To improve, leaders need to ensure that all staff have the right training to teach phonics well.

Ofsted also found adults need to have “higher expectations of children in the early years” and provide more opportunities to extend children’s vocabulary.

Headteacher Kate Steven said: “I am delighted that the inspectors noticed how much our children enjoy school and their learning and recognised the professionalism and high standards by the staff.”