A PRIMARY school has had its status upgraded after Ofsted inspectors hailed its ‘excellent leadership’ and ‘outstanding wellbeing provision’.

The education watchdog upgraded St Edward’s RC Primary School status from ‘requires improvement’ to ‘good’ following a recent visit.

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The Blackburn Road school had been criticised two years ago for ‘inconsistent teaching’ and a ‘downward trend’ in pupils achievement.

But in the report released this week, lead inspector Doris Bell found countless improvements in many areas of the school including leadership, personal development and pupils progress.

Mrs Bell said in her report: “The excellent leadership of the head teacher is underpinned by his unswerving commitment to improving pupil’s life chances.

“Staff and pupils have risen well to the high expectations the head teacher has of them and as a result, the school is better than when it was last inspected.

“Teaching, learning and assessment are good. All groups of pupils from the least to the most able are making equally good progress and gaps in attainment between disadvantaged pupils and that of other pupils is closing.

“Governors display a high level of commitment to the school and parents are very pleased with the school.

“Provision for pupils’ personal development and wellbeing is outstanding and pupils describe the school as a happy place.”

Pupils were also praised for their good behaviour and attendance and for ‘speaking with clarity and confidence’ about how the school teaches them to keep themselves safe, including using the internet.

Inspectors added the school was not yet ‘outstanding’ because pupils were sometimes unsure of what they need to do to improve their work and teachers’s feedback did not always help.

It also said that subject leaders have not yet established how teachers should assess pupils’ achievement in some subjects.

Head teacher Gerard Keane, St Edward’s RC Primary School head teacher, said: “We are very happy with this report. It is extremely positive and I think its a true reflection of the school at this moment in time.

“We are pleased that the hard work of the staff here has paid off and we are pleased for the children and the parents because we do try and give the kids the education they deserve.

“The word outstanding is mentioned a couple of times in relation to the care the children receive and this is what we are all about at St Edwards so we are particularly pleased that our focus on personal development has been recognised.”