A SMALL village primary school is celebrating retaining its ‘good’ Ofsted rating in the latest inspection by the schools’ inspection body.

Dolton Church of England Primary School was rated ‘good’ by Ofsted inspector Alison Cogher when she inspected the school on October 18.

In a letter to executive headteacher Zoe Batten, she said: ‘The school continues to be good. The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the previous inspection.’

The school was last inspected in July 2013, when it was rated ‘good’ the second best out of four possible ratings from inadequate to outstanding.

Since then, the school has come under the leadership of Mrs Batten, who also leads another school, Clinton Primary School at Merton, in an arrangement known as the Tarka Federation. Mrs Batten was brought in to turn around Clinton Primary School which is currently under ‘special measures’ following an ‘inadequate’ rating from Ofsted in May.

Ofsted praised Mrs Batten’s work at Dolton, saying: ‘You have quickly established a climate of high expectations and aspiration for all. Staff and parents express their confidence in the school, and in its positive journey of improvement. You have successfully tackled the areas for improvement raised at the previous inspection. Teachers encourage pupils to talk about their learning, to persevere even when they find activities challenging and to constructively evaluate their own work. As a result, pupils have a much improved understanding of their own learning, and what they need to do next to make their work better. Teachers take the time to discuss pupils’ work with them, to unpick any difficulties they may have and to provide them with specific guidance that enables them to improve.’

The report also noted that there had been ‘significant investment’ in new books for the school library since the last inspection and an online reading programme had made a ‘significant positive impact on pupils’ enjoyment of reading’.

Safeguarding at the school was judged to be ‘effective’, with the inspector saying ‘parents recognise the school’s close “family feel” and are confident that their children are safe and well looked after’. She added that ‘pupils of all ages enjoy each other’s company and take care of each other’ and that ‘pupils behave well and report that there are very few incidents of poor behaviour but, if they do happen, adults deal with them quickly and effectively’. Special needs provision at the school was also praised.

The report was overwhelmingly positive, although the inspector did highlight some areas for improvement; pupils’ spelling at Key Stage 2 ‘has not been good enough, with too few reaching the standard expected by the end of Year 6’.

The inspector added: ‘Pupils are making better progress this year, but there is more to do to ensure that their spelling skills are secure in each Key Stage 2 year group.’

The inspector also said there was ‘more to do to ensure that pupils are able to articulate their mathematical reasoning quickly and clearly’.

The small village primary school has two classes and a total of just 40 pupils.

Key Stage 2 teacher Paula McAdams said: ‘ We are very pleased [with the Ofsted report] because we are a small school, we have to provide the same things as a larger school but there are less people to do it.

‘It is a nice repayment for all the hard work we have put in. We are a tiny little school, it’s a warm and friendly place, very nurturing because everyone gets special attention.’