Shrewsbury school taken out of special measures
A school in Shrewsbury has come out of special measures after more than 18 months with inspectors now branding it as "good.
Inspectors visited Mereside Church of England Primary School in Shrewsbury last month and found that teaching standards had improved "significantly" while the quality of teaching had "improved markedly".
As a result, Ofsted removed them from special measures and graded the school as "good".
The school's last full inspection was in December 2012.
In the report, the inspectors said: "Teaching has improved significantly since the school's last inspection and is helping the vast majority of pupils to make good progress.
"Pupils who were previously falling behind have now caught up and are achieving well in all subjects' and that pupils are 'energised by the broad range of subjects and topics they study and the varied events and activities provided by the school'."
Inspectors observed 15 lessons and during their time at the school they held discussions with pupils, teachers, parents and governors, listened to students' reading and reviewed pupils' work.
In their report, inspectors say that the quality of teaching has "improved markedly" since the school's last inspection – and found there is no inadequate teaching and that the vast majority is of good or outstanding quality.
They found that pupils had made more consistently good progress in reading, writing and mathematics in all classes and that current Year Six pupils had made remarkable progress.
The pace of improvement to pupils' achievement was described as "rapid" in most classes.
Inspectors also found pupils to be attentive, well behaved and keen to learn.
They praise the headteacher and deputy headteacher for providing "strong, ambitious leadership" and say that teaching and support staff work well as a cohesive team, and that staff morale is high.
Headteacher Liz Holmes said: "We are absolutely delighted with the outcome of the Ofsted inspection.
"Every member of the school community has worked together as a cohesive team to drive up standards at the school, and this report is testament to everyone's hard work and dedication.
"We will now strive to build on our recent improvements and achievements and are aiming to become an outstanding school at our next full inspection."
Ann Hartley, Shropshire Council's Cabinet member for children's services, added: "I'm thrilled that the inspectors have recognised the substantial improvements that have been made at Mereside in a relatively short period of time.
"This is the result of a lot of very hard work on the part of staff and governors at the school and I'm really pleased for the head and her team. I'm also pleased that the council's support for the school has been praised."
