Positive progress for Walsall school in special measures

Leamore Primary School, in Bloxwich Road, has had five monitoring inspections since being placed into special measures following an inspection in October 2013.

But a new report has revealed that inspectors now say the school is making 'reasonable progress' towards coming out of special measures.

It said children in nursery and reception classes were making good or outstanding progress.

The report said: "This is because teaching is highly effective. The proportion of children reaching the expected level of development by the end of the reception class has more than doubled since last year and is now above the national average."

The report said that at the end of key stage two, results had also improved because additional teachers had worked with small groups of year six pupils to accelerate their progress.

Inspector Rachel Howie also described how teaching had continued to improve and labelled it as 'consistently good and often outstanding' in early years and key stage one.

She added: "Teaching is characterised by fun and interesting activities that capture the interest and imagination of the pupils. "Resources are meticulously prepared and carefully organised to meet the needs of the pupils."

Although teaching was said to be improving, inspectors said it remained less consistent in key stage two, not only between classes but also between different subject areas.

Behaviour in classrooms was described as well managed, attitudes to learning were said to be positive and attendance had improved slowly, however remained below the national average.

The report said the interim headteacher Michelle Hill had an accurate view of what needed to be done and was tackling issues with a sense of urgency.

It added: "As a result, the pace of improvement has been accelerated.

"She has appointed interim leaders and they have quickly become a cohesive, hardworking and determined team.

"In a short space of time they have affected a number of improvements. The learning environments have become brighter, fresher and clutter free.

"They have resolved ongoing staffing issues to ensure that all vacant posts are filled for September.

"The interim headteacher has gained the respect of the staff and galvanised them into taking more rapid action."

When Leamore Primary School was placed in special measures, inspectors said teaching was not up to scratch, learning was slow and teachers did not check pupils' progress closely enough.