OUR Lady of Lourdes Primary School and Nursery in Leigh has been rated “good” by Ofsted, a huge achievement after being graded as “inadequate” in 2016.

The school was rated “good” in the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development and leadership and management.

The school has amalgamated with Our Lady of Lourdes PreSchool and Ofsted also graded the early years provision of the nursery and reception classes as “good”.

Headteacher Mrs Sally Nutman said: “We are delighted that the achievements of our happy school have been recognised by the inspection team. Our Lady of Lourdes is a school where we put children first and our staff have worked hard to ensure that the curriculum meets high standards so that our children are prepared for the secondary school of their choice.

“It has been a long journey to improve our school and we are committed to providing the best of experiences for the children in our care. We look forward to a time of stability where we can continue to serve our community well and build upon the hard work that we have put in place. We know that with our dedicated team we will continue to go from strength to strength.”

The schoolhas improvedafter the 2016 inspection which stated there were safeguarding issues.

In the current report Ofsted stated that “arrangements for safeguarding are effective” .

The report noted that pupils “enjoy learning and playing together” and “the school values of understanding, kindness, respect, faith, excellence and responsibility can be seen in action throughout the day” and “break times are friendly and calm.There is plenty of space for everyone to enjoy their games. Pupils of all ages mix happily. Olderpupils readily help and encourage younger pupils.”

In order to improve further Ofsted stated: “clear curriculum plans are in place. In a few subjects, these are not implemented well enough. When this happens, pupils find it difficult to complete activities and retain the important learning that leaders have planned. Leaders must ensure that all curriculum plans are implemented as intended”

and “leaders should review arrangements for communicating with parents and strategies to involve them in school life to enable parents to support their children at school.” See the full report at www.reports.ofsted.gov.uk.