Inspectors found pupils’ behaviour outstanding and rated Harrowby Church of England Infants’ School overall ‘good’ when they made a first ever Ofsted report there.
Standards by the end of year two were found to be significantly high in reading, writing and mathematics, but the inspector, Ruth McFarlane, declined to give the school an ‘outstanding’ mark because she felt tasks did not always deepen pupils’ understanding.
She concluded that the behaviour and safety of the children plus the standard of leadership and management under head teacher John Gibbs were both ‘outstanding’ while the achievements of pupils and the quality of teaching were rated as ‘good’.
In reaching the rating of ‘good’, the inspector found that good teaching and outstanding leadership were largely responsible for the recent rise in pupils’ attainment.
The report, which followed an inspection last month, said classrooms were “a buzz of extremely purposeful learning.”