THE inspirational leadership of the former headteacher of Bridestowe School has been recognised in a new report by a senior education inspector.

Shan Maiden tragically died in post earlier this year and has been succeeded as acting head by Linda Wells.

Earlier this month a senior inspector from the school standards agency Ofsted visited Bridestowe for a short inspection and his report has just been published.

Mark Lindfield concludes: 'Its strength is a staff who provide a caring environment and who are committed to putting children first.

'The acting headteacher is following along the path set by the dedicated and inspirational leadership and management of her predecessor.

'She continues to set a clear direction for the school and receives good support from the close team of staff and governors.'

Mrs Wells said: 'We feel delighted that the hard work of Shan Maiden has been recognised and that her commitment to developing the children's confidence and ability to explain their thoughts and learning shone through.'

Mr Lindfield said that children get off to a flying start at Bridestowe's foundation stage where they are nurtured, play together happily and develop positive attitudes to learning.

'Good quality teaching means that the children make good progress, particularly in communication and literacy,' he said.

Parents told him how well their children settled into school and praised the commitment of staff.

Children start at the school with varying levels of attainment, said Mr Lindfield, and by the time they leave they are achieving nationally expected standards.

'Pupils are confident and friendly,' he said. 'They are happy to talk about their work and their school.

'They enjoy a wide range of subjects and are proud of, and enthusiastic about, the many ways in which they contribute to the life of the school.

'Pupils have a good understanding of healthy eating and enjoy local produce prepared by the cook who epitomises the caring nature of the staff.

'Staff build positive relationships with pupils and provide good care and support.

'The curriculum is good and continually adapted to meet the needs of all groups of learners. Many pupils of all ages take part in a range of after school clubs.'

To continue to improve, Mr Lindfield said the school should ensure there were clear success criteria for pupils of different abilities in lessons and make more use of individual targets for pupils in order to raise standards even more.

Mrs Wells said: 'We felt the inspection was rigorous but fair and we were pleased with the report.

'It endorsed the school's internal evaluation systems because the areas for improvement had already been identifed as areas we need to strengthen.'