GRATELEY Primary School has maintained its ‘good’ reputation following an inspection from the education watchdog.

The school was visited by Ofsted inspectors on May 2 and 3 and it was rated as ‘good’ in all areas including leadership and management; quality of teaching; learning and assessment; personal development; and behaviour and welfare.

Leaders and staff were praised for their “clear understanding of strengths and weaknesses within their subject area” and their “high expectations of pupils’ behaviour and what they can achieve”.

The report added: “Relationships between staff and pupils are warm and friendly. Pupils are encouraged to be positive about their work and to persevere when they find it challenging. As a result, pupils are developing as resilient learners.”

Inspectors also highlighted the work of headteacher Rachel Dance since her appointment in September 2017 and her determination to “make the school the best it can be”.

The report added: “The new headteacher has a clear and thorough understanding of the school’s strengths.

“She has quickly identified areas for school improvement and set about addressing these tenaciously.”

During the visit inspectors noted that pupils “behave well and react quickly to prompts from adults”, adding: “They demonstrate positive attitudes to learning and say that they enjoy coming to school because teachers make lessons fun”.

And Ofsted said that parents and carers were “extremely positive” about the school, with one saying: “A caring environment with a warm approach to every child. I would strongly recommend this school to other parents”.

However, the school has been told that it needs to improve its quality of teaching in maths by ensuring that all staff have a secure knowledge of the subject and pupils are given more opportunities to develop their skills.

It also said that more work is needed to be done to provide greater challenges for those most able in order for them to achieve the highest standards of attainment.

Mrs Dance said: “We are really pleased with the report, it didn’t tell us anything we didn’t already know, and we are really pleased with the positive comments from parents.”

In regards to inspectors criticism of maths teaching, Mrs Dance added that the gaps in teachers’ knowledge were not “significant” and were being addressed following changes in the subject curriculum.