PORTLAND'S Brackenbury Infant School provides a 'safe, welcoming and supportive atmosphere for learning', according to its latest Ofsted report.

Inspectors said pupils liked going to school and had positive attitudes to learning, while teaching was good with support from 'very effective teaching assistants'.

Zoe Green, headteacher of the school in Three Yards Close, said: "This is a very positive report and I'm delighted the hard work and dedication of all who work here has been acknowledged."

The report particularly praised the school's work with nursery and reception class children. It said: "The school has a wide range of ability with a significant number of children entering the nursery with attainment that is well below average.

"However they all make good progress and by the time they join the reception class their attainment has improved considerably.

"The quality of teaching overall is good. It is especially good in the foundation stage, with very high quality teaching in the nursery."

It said good progress is also made in Years 1 and 2 as teachers have high expectations, and make sure higher attaining pupils are challenged while those with special needs are well supported.

It said Mrs Green provided a clear vision and direction for the school through strong leadership, and governors have a good knowledge of it's strengths and weaknesses.

The report added that the school needs to address issues of handwriting and the length of time children spend waiting for activities to start, and also identified that the school needed to do further work to develop pupil's awareness of cultural diversity, something which is already being addressed.

The key issues from the last inspection in 1997 had all been addressed with good improvement and 'the school is well placed to build on the progress it has made and improve further'.