Walsall primary school out of special measures after 'rapid' improvement

King's Hill Primary School on Old Park Road in Darlaston was placed into special measures in 2013 after being told that its pupils' achievements were inadequate, their behaviour required improvement and that there was not enough effective teaching in place.

But in the latest inspection, published earlier this month, the school has been told it is improving and has seen its rating change from inadequate to requires improvement.

Inspector Morag Kophamel said: "Since the headteacher joined the school, the pace of improvement has accelerated strongly. The headteacher and governors are ambitious for the school's future.

"As a result of their work, teaching is improving and standards are rising."

But concerns were still raised about the school in certain areas, including 'quality of teaching, learning and assessment' and 'outcomes for pupils'.

The report states that 'teaching is not consistently good in all classes', 'not all teachers make sure that pupils use correct spelling, punctuation and grammar in their writing' and 'too many pupils are persistently absent'.

Despite this, headteacher Nin Matharu said: "I am absolutely delighted and feel a huge sense of pride in being able to say that King's Hill Primary School is no longer in special measures.

"A tremendous amount of hard work has been undertaken to achieve this result, but we still have work to do. I would like to pay tribute to the staff, pupils and governors for their support."

Councillor Chris Towe, the portfolio holder for education services in Walsall, added: "

Mrs Matharu and her team are to be congratulated on their efforts in bringing about these improvements."

King's Hill is one of four primary schools in the borough that is set for expansion thanks to a government grant. It will see the size of its reception class increase from 45 to 60.