BOSSES tasked with improving standards at a Blackburn college have been praised for improvements.

Ofsted judged Our Lady and St John Catholic College in North Road as requiring improvement at the school’s last full inspection in 2017.

But Ofsted officials confirmed it is now on the right track to being judged good.

A monitoring visit was carried out in April to check on progress.

In a letter to headteacher Peter Tite, reporting inspector Will Smith said: “Senior leaders and governors are taking effective action to tackle the areas requiring improvement identified at the recent section five inspection in order for the school to become good.

“There has been considerable change at the school since the previous inspection. Leaders and governors have an accurate, balanced and perceptive understanding of the school’s effectiveness. They understand where clear improvements have been made but do not underestimate the scale of the challenge still facing the school. In particular, they recognise that more needs to be done to address the remaining weaknesses in teaching and pupils’ outcomes. They have appropriate and credible plans to improve the school further.

“These plans are built upon a firm commitment to the school’s Catholic ethos and values.

“Leaders have created an inclusive and caring community. Pupils feel immense pride in being members of the school.

“They enthusiastically subscribe to the school’s respectful and inclusive values. They appreciate the professional and friendly relationships that they enjoy with staff, who they feel ‘go the extra mile’ on their behalf.

“Staff are equally positive about working at the school. They feel that leaders have created a vibrant professional culture which encourages them to be reflective and think deeply about different aspects of their work.

“Staff also value the career opportunities that are available to them.

“Many are given the chance to work closely with colleagues from other schools, which reflects the school’s open and outward facing approach.

“These experiences are helping them to improve different aspects of the school’s work, such as the use of pupil premium funding.

“Since the previous inspection, senior and middle leaders have become more established in their roles. This has enabled them to develop a clearer understanding of the effectiveness of various aspects of their work.

“In turn, this has helped them to take actions that are leading to demonstrable improvement, particularly in relation to pupils’ behaviour and attendance.”