A SMALL West Devon village primary school has won the universal acclaim of its parents, who say it is the best school their children could attend.

And their views have been endorsed by independent education inspectors, who say Northlew and Ashbury Primary is a good school where children make good progress in both their academic and personal development.

Ofsted inspectors said: 'Pupils make good progress because they receive consistently good teaching.

'They really enjoy school and have very positive attitudes towards their learning.

'Pupils behave extremely well and say that lessons are interesting and exciting.

'The curriculum is good and there are specific strengths in art and music.

'There is excellent support for the needs of all pupils.'

Ofsted visited the school for two days last month and lead inspector Christine Huard said it had a raft of outstanding features.

The care, guidance and support provided for the 36 pupils is outstanding as is the extent to which they adopt healthy lifestyles.

Pupils' behaviour, links with parents, safeguarding and the effectiveness of partnerships in promoting learning and well-being were all outstanding too, said Ms Huard.

Children get off to a flying start because of the good induction arrangements in early years and they settle quickly and happily.

And throughout their school career they are supported by staff who all share an ambition to achieve the best for all their pupils.

Ms Huard said headteacher Nicola Lampe must take considerable credit for the success of the school.

'She leads from the front and is an excellent role model for the staff in that she does not ask anything of them she is not willing to do herself,' says Ms Huard.

'She has very high expectations of what pupils can achieve and constantly strives to make the provision even stronger.

'The vision is shared by all staff who are proud to be part of the school.'

Ms Huard said parents were unanimous in their acclaim for the school and there were no negative views expressed in the Ofsted questionnaire.

One parent said: 'We think Northlew is simply the best school our child could attend.'

Another said: 'This school is genuinely interested in children as individuals.'

Ms Huard concluded: 'The inspection findings confirm the views of the parents.'

She said to improve further Northlew should ensure appropriate links were made between subjects in the curriculum and make sure that presentation of work is consistently good.

Mrs Lampe said: 'We are delighted with the Ofsted report. 

'It reflects the hard work of the pupils and staff and the positive support the school receives from parents and governors.'