Wolverhampton school overcomes special measures and arson attack to be graded outstanding by Ofsted

Inspectors visited Elston Hall Primary in Stafford Road last month and praised the teaching, pupils' behaviour, and leadership of the school.

Headteacher Kevin Grayson said staff were extremely proud of the achievement.

He said "We are so pleased to receive this outstanding judgement, particularly as it recognises the two key themes of our school; high standards of progress made in learning and excellent behaviour from our children."

In his report, released this week, lead Ofsted inspector Jeremy Bird said: "Teachers are relentless in their drive to support pupils in making the best progress they can. As a result, pupils' achievement is outstanding.

"Teaching is outstanding because teachers and teaching assistants skilfully develop pupils' skills, knowledge and understanding in a wide variety of subjects. They have very high expectations of how quickly pupils can learn and how high they can achieve."

He also praises the culture created by Mr Grayson, which 'inspires all staff to do the best they can for the pupils'.

The reports says the Fordhouses school, which has 687 pupils from nursery to Year Six, has about 40 per cent of pupils eligible for the pupil premium, and 20 per cent of students are disabled or have special education needs - both higher than the national averages.

Parents, staff and pupils are overwhelmingly positive about behaviour, the report says, and agree that all pupils, irrespective of their background, get on very well with each other.

"There are a variety of ethnic groups represented in the school, and all learn and play together extremely well. Pupils are tolerant and respectful. Discrimination does not occur, with school leaders expecting pupils to learn and play well with each other. Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain as they understand and value differences in people."

The school is one of the largest primary schools in Wolverhampton and one of only a handful to be rated Outstanding.

Eight years ago it was placed in special measures after being rated inadequate by Ofsted.

Staff and pupils faced further problems in 2010 when three classrooms, the library and offices were destroyed in an arson attack.

Children were taught in mobile classrooms until the block was rebuilt in summer 2011.

Mr Grayson was appointed in spring 2007 and by December that year the school was rated Satisfactory and taken out of special measures.

He said: "The journey from special measures has been a challenging one; perhaps the most important thing from my perspective was the need to create an outstanding team of staff who were completely committed to the children and school.

"I was particularly pleased that this was a crucial part of the report. We always knew that such a judgement would be challenging to achieve but it was the goal we had set ourselves and we are so proud to have achieved it."

The only thing Ofsted notes the school needs to do to improve further is ensure that year three and four pupils 'present their work to the highest standards'.