A BLACKBURN school which was criticised after being stripped of its ‘outstanding’ status has been praised by Ofsted chiefs for taking action to improve its teaching.

Roe Lee Park Primary School slumped from the highest-possible grade to ‘requires improvement’ after an inspection in November last year in which the education watchdog said it needed to improve its leadership, teaching, pupil outcomes and early year provision.

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The Emerald Avenue school was visited by inspectors again in July who praised it for responding “decisively” following the “shock” of the previous inspection.

Headteacher Mark Geldard said he is “feeling positive about the future of the school” after the follow up inspection.

Senior inspector Eileen Mulgrew told Mr Geldard in a letter: “You met with parents to explain the inspection outcomes and reassured them that strong action would be taken to move the school to good as soon as possible.

“This calmed fears and you gained the respect of the parents, who are extremely supportive.

“Together with governors and the local authority, you swiftly produced an action plan to guide all involved in tackling the weaknesses found at the inspection.”

She said, in the letter published this week, staff “pinned their colours to the mast” and showed their determination to make Roe Lee a good school and improve outcomes for all pupils.

Mrs Mulgrew said the quality of teaching has improved thanks to the head, deputy head and English and maths subject leaders.

“Staff have visited other local schools to observe outstanding practice. The deputy headteacher has coached teachers to build their confidence, providing guidance on planning activities which are based on what pupils already know and understand,” she said.

“Scrutiny of pupils’ books shows that the work teachers set for them is increasingly matched to their levels of ability. Pupils consider that the work has got harder, challenges them to think and is fun.”

Results show about a quarter of pupils in year two gained above the expected level in reading and maths while higher than average proportions of year six pupils gained the expected level in reading and maths, she said.

Pupils’ skills in writing are starting to gather momentum “This focus on developing basic skills has paid off, with a significant proportion of year six pupils gaining above the expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling in the 2016 assessments.”

Mr Geldard said: “I am extremely pleased that the inspector has recognised how hard we have all worked, teachers, support staff and pupils alike, to address the issues that had been raised previously.

“I like to congratulate everyone for their enthusiasm and determination in making these rapid improvements and I’m very positive about the future of our school.”