CHESHAM Primary School has been rated as a "very effective school" by Ofsted inspectors.

The team spent two days at the Talbot Grove school in March this year and found the school to be "very effective"

Headteacher Mr Peter Hudson was found to provide very effective leadership and manages the school well. He is well supported by governors and staff, who work hard to maintain and improve the high standards.

Overall the standard of teaching was said to be good, and much of it is "very good".

The pupils themselves were said to be very well behaved and hard working with positive attitudes and a keenness to learn. They have a broad and relevant curriculum with a good range of activities provided to meet their interests and abilities.

The provision for the personal development of the school's 311 pupils is good and the school enjoys a very effective partnership with parents.

Since its last inspection in 1997 there has been "good" improvement. A new computer suite has improved the provision for ICT and the results achieved by pupils in the national tests in English, mathematics and science at the age of 11 were well above the national average in 2001. In addition, the governing body has established an effective committee structure and governors are more involved in the decision making process.

However, there is still room for a small amount of improvement. Inspectors felt playground facilities could be bettered along with the accommodation for pupils in Years 5 and 6. They also felt the use of assessment information to set individual targets for improvement could be improved.