MEMBERS of staff at St Michael’s School in Aldbourne are celebrating after receiving an Outstanding Ofsted report.

The primary school in Back Lane was delighted to receive the highest rating from the governing body following the inspection which took place in July. The report, which was published on the Ofsted website on Wednesday (September 14), showed that all areas of the assessment were deemed Outstanding.

Head teacher Judith Arkwright said: “I am absolutely delighted with our new outstanding status. It is a true reflection of the commitment and sheer hard work of everyone involved in making St Michaels such a huge success- the staff team, our volunteers, the governors and of course the children themselves. We already has so much to celebrate, this is the icing on the cake. Our school is a very special place for the children and it’s wonderful to be recognised as such.”

The report states that the leaders of the school, including governors, have created a culture in which staff are fully committed to driving up the standards and supporting the development of the whole child.

The report reads: “Provision and the quality of teaching in the early years are excellent. As a result, children achieve high standards and are prepared exceptionally well for the next stage of their education.

“Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and those who are disadvantaged, make very strong progress because of the excellent support they receive.”

Simon Knighton, chairman of the school governors, said: “The school has a fantastic team and our children have been achieving excellent results over the last few years in a happy learning environment. We are proud of them and the way that everyone has been prepared to try out new ideas such as our daily runs and the Forest School initiative. This also impressed Ofsted on their recent inspection and I am very pleased that our school is now recognised as amongst the best in the country.”

Out of 1356 primary schools inspected between September 2015 and March 2016 only seven per cent received outstanding, according to the official Government website.

Nadia Aylett, another governor of the school, said: “The achievement of OFSTED ‘outstanding’ status is a reflection of the incredible effort our teaching team and volunteers have put in every day over many years under Judith Arkwright’s leadership and means that the school is in the highest category of primary schools nationally; Governors and staff are understandably delighted by this achievement which will also have a profoundly beneficial effect upon the wider Aldbourne community.”