A BARNOLDSWICK primary school has turned things around and been rated as 'good' by Ofsted.

Gisburn Road Primary School, which had received a 'requires improvement' rating in November 2013, has now been rated as 'good' following a two-day inspection at the end of April.

Inspectors found the school was 'good' in five major categories – achievement of pupils, behaviour and safety of pupils, early years provision leadership and management and quality of teaching.

Inspectors wrote "good leadership and management have eradicated weaknesses in teaching" and "as a result, teaching is consistently good".

They also found “children get off to a good start in early years as the provision is good” and “pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, make good progress, especially in reading”.

Inspectors said “marking is used effectively to help pupils improve their work” and it was stated “good provision is in place for pupils’ spiritual, moral, cultural and social development”.

The report highlights "a major strength of teaching is the strong emphasis given to the importance of establishing high-quality relationships".

It was also stated "mathematics is taught well" and "phonics skills are taught effectively".

In the report, it was also noted “leaders support the headteacher well and have played their part in improving the quality of education the school” and “governance is strong both in supporting and also in holding leaders to account”.

Inspectors also noted "pupils feel safe and behaviour is good".

The school was not given an 'outstanding' rating because inspectors found “attainment is lower than it should be as a result of some weak teaching in the past”, “pupils are given work to do that is too easy for them” and the “quality of pupils’ writing in subjects, such as science, does not match that found in their literacy books”.

It was also reported “teaching is not yet outstanding and, as such, pupils’ progress is good rather than rapid".

As a result, inspectors said the school needed to "improve pupils’ attainment so that by the end of year six, attainment in reading, writing and mathematics is at least in line with the national average".

The school was unavailable for comment at the time of going to print.

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