STAFF and children at a West Devon school are celebrating their Ofsted report which has graded them as ‘good’.

Kerry Bargewell, head of Whitchurch Community Primary School, said the two-day inspection from mid October judged overall effectiveness, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management and early years provision.

She said: “I am delighted to confirm that the school has been judged as ‘Good’ in all areas following this inspection.

“I would like to congratulate all staff, pupils and governors for the outcome of this report. Their dedication to making the school the best it can be is unquestionable. “We now have the vitally important challenge of building upon this success and continuing to improve the outcomes and experiences for the children.

“We have a clear pathway to further strengthen and embed our curriculum. We strive for excellence and will keep moving forwards through teamwork, innovation and creativity. I thank all parents and carers for their continued support of the school. This is an immensely proud moment for the whole school community to enjoy.”

She pointed out report highlights. “Pupils are proud and happy to attend their caring school. They use their values to help them to behave respectfully. Pupils are kind and polite towards everyone. They welcome new pupils and visitors with a warm smile. Pupils have a thirst to learn new things. They study an ambitious curriculum that prepares them well for their next steps in learning and beyond.”

“The school emphasises the importance of reading. From the very beginning of the reception year, children learn how to crack the alphabetic code. Highly skilled staff follow the school’s phonics curriculum to support pupils to learn the sounds that letters make. Pupils become confident, fluent readers, who read high-quality texts.”

She said the school, alongside the trust, worked with determination to ensure that pupils’ experiences of school were positive. At the heart of this work is pupils’ personal development. Through a well-planned curriculum, pupils learn about ‘who they are as pupils at Whitchurch Community Primary School.’

Pupils develop their spiritual, moral and social understanding well. They understand the importance of being physically and mentally healthy.

Also, pupils with special educational needs provision benefit from careful adaptations to their learning.