STAFF and pupils at Ringwood Infant School are celebrating after once again being rated outstanding in its latest church inspection.

A Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools (SIAMS) report praised the school which is located in School Lane.

SIAMS are independent of Ofsted and the principal objective is to evaluate the distinctiveness and effectiveness of a school as a church school.

The report said “all children are highly valued” and have “excellent standards of personal development, academic achievement and wellbeing”.

It also praised the the commitment and vision of the headteacher and governors, adding: “The strong commitment, high expectations and clear vision of the headteacher and governors are very effective in ensuring the school’s continued development as a highly distinctive Christian school.”

The school is a larger than average infant school with 270 pupils.

Inspectors said: “Ringwood Infant School is an outstanding church school because its core Christian values of love, courage and respect are explicit, deeply embedded and well-understood by the whole school community.

“Each child is viewed as unique and special. This has resulted in children who are happy, confident and excited within school.”

The report said behaviour is “of the highest standard” and children told inspectors that collective worship times makes them feel “nice and calm inside”.

The report praised the school’s links with a primary school in Uganda and said staff and governors are ambitious in their search for ways to further improve.

It added: “Strong, capable leadership ensures the academic progress of Ringwood’s children consistently reaches national levels and above, thus supporting the future success of its children.”

The report suggested that children should be allowed to be more involved in the leadership, planning and evaluation of worship.”

Head teacher Hilary Silk said: “We’re delighted with the report and feedback from the church.

“The whole team at Ringwood, governors and staff, work hard to ensure our Christian ethos translates into a loving and safe environment where every child thrives, receives an excellent education and makes the most of every opportunity presented to them.”