Village primary school said to be 'warm, happy and inclusive' in latest Ofsted report

Leaders are praised, staff are commended for their work, particularly in their teaching of children with special educational needs, and pupils are said to be ‘respectful and tolerant of everyone in the school community and beyond’.

The school was found to be ‘good’ in every category of the inspection and ‘good’ overall.

Reacting to the report’s findings, executive headteacher, Julie Hopkins, gave special thanks to head of school, Hollie Geeson, who she said ‘works diligently and passionately each day to ensure Waltham School is the best it can be’.

Mrs Hopkins said: “I am so proud of each and every one of our children and staff; they were able to let their light shine throughout the inspection, just as they do each day.

"I’d like to thank staff for their dedication and commitment to teaching and learning and to the Rise family who have worked with us to enable all to flourish and succeed.”

Shaheen Hussain, who led the inspection, recognised many strengths in the school, highlighting that ‘from the start of pre-school, staff work hard to build effective and trusting relationships with families’.

Pupils typically achieve well, the inspectors found, and where there was a weakness, in mathematics at the end of key stage two, leaders worked hard on the area to improve results.

They also praised the ambition of leaders to ensure every child in the school is a reader.

Inspectors identified some areas where staff can improve in their work: “In a few subjects and in the early years, leaders have not fully implemented the

curriculum as they intend.

"Therefore, pupils’ knowledge and understanding in these areas are not as secure.

"Leaders need to ensure that they make the necessary adaptations to the remaining subjects so that pupils can recall more as they progress through school.”

Waltham School is part of the Rise Multi Academy Trust and its CEO, Mark Cole, commented: “We are delighted that the hard work of staff at Waltham has been recognised.

"As a family of schools, we work tirelessly to support each school in its improvement journey.”