Education chiefs have praised the efforts of staff, pupils and parents at Claregate Primary School after it was rated "Good" by Ofsted.

Inspectors visited the Chester Avenue school last month and found that standards had risen dramatically since the school's previous inspection.

In their report, published this week, they said that Claregate's leadership team had worked well to improve the school. They described headteacher Michael Murphy as a "determined leader who is focused on securing the best outcomes for pupils", and said that teachers and governors had high expectations of their children.

They found that pupils themselves enjoying learning at Claregate Primary - and this is showing in performance, with overall standards at the end of Year 6 being above average. Current pupils are also making good progress, with strong achievements in reading and maths, while the school gives its youngest children a good start to their education.

Inspectors also noted that pupils were "well behaved, polite, confident and cheerful. They treat everyone they encounter with respect."

Claregate's Governing Board is "highly effective", with governors effectively holding senior leaders to account, and playing an instrumental role in securing improvements at the school.

They also found that the City of Wolverhampton Council had provided the school with "a good level of support and challenge through visits and review meetings", with advisers playing a "key role in helping the school to improve". Leaders and staff have also benefitted from partnerships with a number of other local schools, giving teachers the chance to share best practice.

Wolverhampton's Director of Education Julien Kramer said: "This is a very positive inspection which reflects well the big improvements that have taken place at Claregate Primary School since its last inspection.

"I would like to congratulate Michael Murphy and his leadership team, the staff and governors, and of course the pupils and their parents, for their hard work and commitment to making Claregate a Good school.

"As a council we are committed to supporting Wolverhampton's schools to improve and thrive, and as a result more pupils than ever before are now studying at local schools which are rated either Good or Outstanding by Ofsted. This is not only fantastic news for the children and their families, but also for our city as a whole."

Headteacher Mick Murphy said: "Happy well balanced children and high standards have always been the case at Claregate. Our goals were to narrow gaps between different groups of pupils and this is something that we have successfully done.

"Given the strength of teamwork, the things that we now have to achieve to move to Outstanding are easily within our reach. Our pupils are wonderful and fully deserve the praise that they have received."

Ofsted defines a good school as one that is "effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils' needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment."

  • released: Friday 8 July, 2016