PARENTS, teachers and pupils celebrated as a junior school judged to be failing a year ago was taken off special measures.

Head teacher David Whalley, who joined Audley Junior School, Blackburn, three months ago, said: "It's fantastic news, we are all over the moon."

Children spoke about their school at a celebration meeting attended by governors, staff and local education authority officers at the Queen's Park Road school last night.

Four governors, including the chairman and vice-chairman, resigned after the damning Ofsted report a year ago.

Inspectors criticised the quality of teaching, lack of help for children with special needs, poor attainment in English, maths and science and poor provision for information technology.

Education bosses at Blackburn with Darwen Council took over control of the school in June and terminated the contract of head David Braithwaite, who had been off sick for more than two years. The council's school improvement officer Janet Woods, who has worked with the school since the report, said staff morale had been very low but teachers had faced up to the challenge and inspectors had said the quality of teaching was now a strength of the school.

She said: "It's been a very rapid turnaround. There has been a very open and honest partnership between the education authority and the school. The inspectors have told us that if the school continues to progress, it may become a beacon school.

"The staff and children have been through a lot of changes but hopefully now we will have a period of peace and stability."

Governors' chairman Jan Quereshi and head David Whalley are pictured joining in the celebrations with pupils, parents and teachers.

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