Ofsted has praised a Wolverhampton school after finding it to be "Good".

Inspector Jonathan Keay visited St Anthony's Catholic Primary School in Fordhouses earlier this month, and noted a number of improvements which have taken place at the school over the last few years.

He said the school's leadership team had maintained the good quality of education in the school since its last inspection in 2012, when it was also rated Good, and had successfully managed a period of staffing changes, forming an effective leadership team in the process.

Headteacher Tamsin Davis, who was appointed in September 2015, has introduced a range of new initiatives which have helped bring about improvements in the school, including in mathematics and phonics, and appointed new leaders to oversee key areas within the curriculum.

Mr Keay noted that the City of Wolverhampton Council has "provided highly effective support to the school", in particular through a programme of training in Early Years. This has helped bring about "rapid improvements for children at the start of their learning journey at St Anthony's", resulting in the proportion of children attaining a good level of development rising for three years running. Indeed, outcomes at Early Years are now above the national average.

The Governing body undertook an audit of governors' skills and put in place a development plan to ensure they could be as effective as possible, and they now have a "clear and accurate view of the journey the school has been on".

Mr Keay also found St Anthony's to be proud of its Catholic ethos, which he said underpins all that it does, and highlighted the appointment of pupils as "ambassadors for fundamental British values", who share their knowledge with their peers in assemblies and during class meetings.

Staff and pupils were found to be happy and keen to share their learning with the inspector, while parents were also full of praise for the school in their responses to Ofsted's questionnaire.

Mrs Davis said: "It is a pleasure to lead the team at St Anthony's; they are dedicated to ensuring the very best outcomes for pupils. Parents hold high standards for their children and work effectively with us as partners. The inspection outcome is a culmination of the ongoing hard work that all staff contribute to every day."

Councillor Claire Darke, the City of Wolverhampton Council's Cabinet Member for Education, said: "This is a very positive assessment of the quality of education provided to young people by St Anthony's, and I look forward to the school going from strength in the months and years ahead.

"I would like to thank Tamsin Davis, her leadership team and staff, the governors and of course pupils and parents for their hard work, and also thank members of the council's School Standards team for the highly effective support they have offered which has had a very positive impact on attainment, particularly in Early Years.

  • released: Monday 30 January, 2017