Loddon Infant and Nursery School has retained its “good” grading following an inspection by Ofsted.

The inspection was carried out at the start of December, with a report published this month praising the school’s passion for learning and the leadership team.

The visit was the first short inspection since the school was judged to be good in May 2011.

The report said 15 months ago the school had “lost its direction”, however headteacher Mark Devereux and the staff have worked tirelessly to change attitudes to learning, so much so that the pupils have come up with their own motto.

Mr Devereux, who is also headteacher of Loddon Junior School, joined the infant school in 2014.

He said: “I’m absolutely delighted with the report. It does very much reflect the hard work of all members of the community, the parents, staff and the children.

“It shows the journey that we have taken from that point to where we are now and the improvements we have made.”

The report said parents have confidence in the leadership and feel staff are very approachable, staff expertise and experience are shared effectively across both schools and staff and governors make sure that pupils are safe.

It also praised the school council who are dedicated to making the school the best it can be and pupils’ progress in maths, reading and writing, which is in line with the requirements of the new national curriculum.

The report said the next steps for the school are for leaders and governors to ensure that pupils’ attendance continues to improve and the school works with the local authority to ensure pupils attend every day, the school agrees an approach to teaching letter formation and handwriting that is used by all teachers and parents, and teachers in the early years make sure there is a good balance between direct teaching of key skills and the learning activities that children can choose for themselves.

Mr Devereux said: “We accept the next steps for the school and will be implementing them as soon as we can.”

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