GRANGE Primary School have closed their investigation into the actions of an external instructor as Ofsted has praised progress being made at the school.

In January an incident involving a pupil triggered an internal investigation, and a visit from the schools inspectorate at the time said it needed improvement.

School leaders have welcomed the appreciation of their efforts.

Sarah Hurley, chair of governors at the Grange Federation, said: “Ofsted came quickly after the main inspection, and were pleased with the progress that we were making.

“We have just tightened up our marking policy. The children have been involved with that as well.

“We are working closely with the staff and have had an external consultant come in.

“The staff have worked hard to make sure we make the right choices to make sure the children get the best education.

“I am really pleased they have recognised all the hard work that has been done. A lot of it was already in place, and just needed to take that extra step.

“The last report was fair. They saw the school as it was but they acknowledged we were moving in the right direction.

“We got good advice and we have taken it on board. While we are not happy about being a school which requires improvement, we are doing everything we can to rectify that.”

Robert Pyner, inspector for Ofsted, said of the school: “There is a strong focus on improving the outcomes for pupils by developing the quality of teaching.

“This has involved improving feedback given to pupils by teachers and a new marking policy has been implemented.

“Teachers are systematically held accountable for the progress of the pupils in their classes through a cycle of meetings and differentiated support is available following monitoring by senior leaders.

“Since the inspection, the monitoring by senior leaders has focused on mathematics and evidence from observations show teachers are more confident in teaching calculation strategies.

“Senior and middle leaders are effectively involved in monitoring and supporting teachers.

“There is a clear focus on improving the quality of learning by pupils and this is used as the basis for judging teaching.

“A system of support and challenge is available for teaching staff and this is securely linked to pupil progress meetings.

“The support for teachers is proportionate and personalised to meet individual needs.”