A primary school in Bracknell has been praised for making huge improvements after four inspections.

Harmans Water Primary School has been ranked ‘Good’ by OFSTED inspectors during their most recent visit.

Staff at the school have been hailed for making learning ‘fun and interesting’ and instilling good values in pupils.

It has made progress after being rated ‘Requires Improvement’ in 2018. During that inspection, staff were criticised for inconsistencies in teaching quality and a lack of progress in spelling for Key Stage 2 pupils (years 3 to 6).

Since then, inspectors found that staff have instilled good values in pupils, who enjoy coming to school, and that pupils’ concerns over bullying, while rare, are dealt with swiftly.

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The inspection report states: “Harmans Water is a friendly and welcoming place. Pupils feel safe and well-cared for. They are proud ambassadors for their school. Pupils develop a deep appreciation of different faiths, cultures and communities. There is an inclusive ethos that shines through. One pupil commented, ‘It’s not what’s on the outside, but what’s on the inside that matters.’

“The school’s values of ‘responsibility, respect, resilience, teamwork, creativity and thoughtfulness’ are successfully threaded though all aspects of school life. Pupils relish their ‘Steps to Awesomeness’ challenges. These help them to live out the school’s values in their day-to-day lives.”

The school’s most recent inspection took place at the end of June.

Inspectors ruled that personal development and early years provision was ‘outstanding’ and rated the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes and leadership and management as good.

In order to improve, inspectors recommended that ‘subject leader’ teachers have a clear understanding of how well pupils are achieving across the school in several subjects, including English and maths, and that leaders make a curriculum that is shaped and adapted effectively, so pupils can learn well.

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Welcoming the OFSTED report, Alison Wyld, the headteacher of the school, said: “Five years ago when I started here, I was the fifth Headteacher in four years and it was widely recognised by the Department for Education and the governors that the school sat on the cusp of Ofsted’s Requires Improvement and Inadequate judgements. I promised the governors at that time that I would stay the course and put my heart and soul into making Harmans Water a good school again. I could not be more pleased that this report, along with the verbal feedback that the inspectors gave, allows me to say, with confidence, that we are now nearer to the cusp of Good and Outstanding.

“The report recognises that the staff and governors of the school make a very strong team and we would not have achieved what we have without all of them putting their hearts and souls into it too. I am immensely proud of them all. Of course I am also incredibly proud of our children – they were so polite, welcoming and eloquent towards the inspectors during the inspection but I know that they are like that every day and it is a joy to work with them.

“Now we are officially a good school, we will not be resting on our laurels, there is plenty to do still – especially with the challenges posed by the disruption to learning from the pandemic – and we look forward to an overall outstanding judgement next time!”

Mrs Wyld went on to point out that the school has been inspected four times since Autumn. On the first visit, the school was inspected to see how it was responding to the coronavirus pandemic. It was then visited in the spring term, when its remote education provision was observed. Inspectors visited on Thursday, June 17, to conduct a section 8 inspection to judge evidence that the school no longer ‘required improvement’.

OFSTED most recently visited on Monday, June 21, and Tuesday, June 22, after which it changed ranking from ‘Requires Improvement’ to ‘Good’.

The school is located in Wellington Drive in the Harmans Water area of the town.