A TAVISTOCK junior school which was told it needed to improve four years ago is celebrating getting a ‘good’ rating from Ofsted.

School inspectors rated St Peter’s C of E Junior School as ‘good’ following a two-day visit to the school in Greenlands on April 26 and 27.

It was rated good in four areas – the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development and leadership and management.

This is a turnaround from June 2018, when a report found that the school needed to improve its quality of teaching, learning and assessment and the outcome for pupils.

The report at that time highlighted that an ‘inconsistency in the quality of teaching’ meant that too many pupils did not reach the standard they should. It particularly highlighted that more needed to be done to support the learning of disadvantaged children and those with special needs.

The latest Ofsted inspection report, however, said that pupils enjoyed learning and that the leaders and staff were ambitious for the pupils, that pupils feel safe in school and that bullying ‘does not happen’.

The school has turned around its fortunes under the leadership of headteacher Suzy Dyter.

The school is part of the St Christopher’s C of E Multi Academy Trust and has 126 pupils on roll.

The report stated: ‘Leaders and staff are ambitious for all pupils. Pupils enjoy learning. They appreciate the wide range of enrichment activities on offer. For example, pupils talk with enthusiasm about outdoor education, sporting events, trips and residential visits. They say they help to bring their classroom learning to life. Pupils’ personal development, talents and interests are nurtured well.

‘Through these activities, pupils learn important life skills. For example, pupils learn the importance of practice to get better for the local half marathon, the Tavy 13.

‘Staff and pupils follow the school values in all they do. Pupils are polite, kind and show respect for each other.

‘They are happy, behave well and attend school regularly. Pupils feel safe in school. They say that bullying does not happen. If pupils have worries, they are confident that staff will help them. Parents say that staff are approachable and supportive.’

The report continued: ‘Leaders have high expectations for pupils’ learning. They have created a clearly sequenced and coherent curriculum. Leaders have identified the essential knowledge they want pupils to remember from the curriculum.

‘Teachers support pupils to practise and remember prior knowledge, skills and vocabulary across most subjects well. This helps pupils to build secure knowledge over time. For example, in history, pupils can confidently place people and events studied on a timeline correctly.’

The report went on to say that while there were a few subjects where Covid-19 had caused disruption to learning, leaving pupils with gaps in their subject knowledge, the school had managed this period by focusing on teaching key areas of the curriculum,

It added: ‘Leaders are aware that teachers need to ensure pupils close gaps in their essential subject knowledge to continue to build new skills, vocabulary and understanding’.

The report went onto say that the school had made reading a priority, that pupils enjoyed reading.

‘Pupils who need additional help are supported effectively with phonic lessons and extra reading practice. The reading books match their phonics understanding. Teachers model reading skilfully and discuss a wide range of books regularly. This supports pupils to read with fluency and develops their comprehension skills well.’