A BASINGSTOKE school has received glowing praise from Ofsted inspectors, who said it would have achieved the top 'outstanding' grade if it had a full inspection.
Merton Infant School in Romsey Close, Popley, which was inspected on March 12 and 13, has maintained its 'good' status achieved in its last graded inspection in 2018.
However, inspectors found enough evidence to suggest Merton Infant School would have exceeded expectations across all areas, including quality of education, behaviour and management, personal development, and leadership and management.
The inspector described Merton Infant School as "exceptionally inclusive" with pupils achieving highly by the end of key stage 1 by providing a high-quality of education and all-round development opportunities.
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The report said that pupils are extremely happy, and know they will be well cared for and learn useful knowledge and skills each day.
The inspector found that leaders of the school are 'incredibly proud' and said that the report recognises the commitment and sustained hard work that all staff do, day in day out.
They acknowledged the dedication of staff and the unwavering support from parents, carers, and governors.
Staff said they were overwhelmed with the response from the Ofsted Parent View survey which indicated a high level of happiness and support with the school.
Leaders were keen to add, while they acknowledge and celebrate this success, "they are not complacent".
They said they will continue to provide the best possible educational opportunities and experiences for the children attending their school now and in the future.
When Ofsted has judged a school to be 'good' in a graded inspection, it will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.
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This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.
Ofsted does not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection.
However, if it finds evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act.
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