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A primary in Radstock is moving forward with confidence after inspectors praised work being done to improve all aspects of school life.

Ofsted inspectors said the united efforts of the teaching staff at Oakhill Church School, the governors, and the Bath and Wells Multi Academy Trust were already leading to results.

There was particular praise for the school’s safeguarding arrangements, and it was noted that both reading for pleasure and relationships between pupils as well as with staff are strong.

The inspector said that while improvement is required in the curriculum and other areas, it has been revised to ‘set out the knowledge and skills pupils need to learn to learn in in all subjects’, it is now well planned and there is a strong aspirational vision.

It was also acknowledged that the school is emerging from an unsettled time but there is now a new leadership team and changes have been made to staffing arrangements.

The inspectors said there were several aspects of school life which are done well:

• Relationships between adults and pupils are positive. Pupils are safe and staff care about their wellbeing. Pupils know that, if they have any worries or concerns, staff will help them to sort these out. Many pupils recognise that behaviour and attitudes have improved markedly;
• Pupils understand the importance of treating everyone fairly. Pupils take on positions of leadership and responsibility. For example, older pupils are ‘buddies’ to younger children and help them at playtime;
• Children engage well with their learning in the well-resourced ‘Roots’ nursery provision. Children share books and join in with songs and rhymes. Staff know children very well and support children to develop new skills;
• The school’s behaviour policy, developed in partnership with the trust, centres around the expectations that pupils ‘be ready, be responsible, be respectful.’ This has had some impact in impact in improving the way in which pupils behave. Pupils understand why these rules are important;
• The school works with external agencies to provide support for pupils with special with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). This has been particularly successful.

The inspector said work still needs to be done in all these areas but stressed: “The trust, the local governing committee and the school the school have identified accurately what needs to improve. The trust and local governors have the necessary expertise to support the school to remedy the areas that require improvement. These actions have begun to have some have some positive impact on pupils’ experiences.”

In a Statutory Inspection of Methodist and Anglican Schools (SIAMS) inspection in September last year, the school was rated Good and ‘was making rapid progress under its new leaders’.