A VILLAGE primary school is celebrating after being named as ‘outstanding’ in an Ofsted report.

Portesham School was noted by inspectors as being a place ‘where every child matters’, and received top marks in each of the four key judgements – the achievement of pupils, the quality of teaching, the behaviour and safety of pupils and the leadership and management.

Headteacher Vicky Prior praised her ‘dedicated and inspirational’ staff.

She said: “I am very proud of our team, who work tirelessly to provide stimulating learning experiences.

“My understanding is that, following Ofsted’s new tougher regime, achieving an outstanding is an even greater challenge, with only five per cent of schools being awarded the top grade. This means the cause for celebration is even greater, and my thanks to all those who support our school go even deeper.”

She added: “We are very lucky to have such an active and committed governing body, who bring a wealth of relevant experience, skills and enthusiasm to the school community.

“Their leadership and active involvement in the school is greatly valued by staff and parents, and has been central to our continued improvement and success.”

The report noted the school’s ‘welcoming and caring environment’ and that teachers had ‘high expectations’ of pupils’ behaviour. It went on to say that the attainment of youngsters in Year 6 was well above average.

Lead inspector Michael Barron said: “Pupils have excellent attitudes to learning and their behaviour is outstanding. They are polite and display a high level of respect for others. The topic-based curriculum provides pupils ... a wide range of stimulating activities, which captures and maintains their interest very effectively.”

He added: “There is a strong focus throughout the school on the teaching of literacy and mathematics and this is always evident in lessons.”

The inspection, which was carried out at half a day’s notice, noted the benefits of the school’s participation in the Chesil Education Partnership.

It found: “The school uses its links with this learning community very well to enhance the effectiveness of the school, for example, by providing school staff with opportunities to meet teachers from other primary schools in an informal setting to discuss and share ideas about best practice in teaching and learning.”