A CHURCH of England primary school has been given an overall grade of 'Good' following an inspection which focuses on the impact of the school's Christian vision on pupils and adults.

Beechcroft St Paul’s Church of England Primary School on Corporation Road in Weymouth underwent a Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools (SIAMS), which involves looking at the school’s Christian vision, the provision the school makes because of this vision and how effective this provision is in enabling all pupils to flourish.

Inspectors visited the school on October 18 and rated the school as being overall 'Good', with areas of development including expanding assessment strategies in RE, ensuring that opportunities for high quality spiritual experiences are recorded in planning, enabling pupils to plan, lead and evaluate collective worship and creating partnerships with other communities.

The primary school, which has an above national average proportion of disadvantaged pupils and above national average proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), was praised by the inspector for its inclusivity and support to more vulnerable pupils.

The report said: "An understanding that everyone is special to God is championed by the Christian vision. This is emphatically demonstrated in the high-quality provision offered to vulnerable pupils. The special educational needs and disability (SEND) leader is passionate in ensuring pupils can access learning

"She has built a skilled team of learning assistants (LAs) and impressive facilities, such as the sensory room. Pupils flourish, gaining confidence in what they can achieve. The quality of support is recognised by the local authority, where the school’s support is impressive."

The report also praised how the school supported pupils during the pandemic.

It said: "The Christian vision was tangibly evident in the care for pupils and families during the pandemic. Online lessons enabled learning to continue, with individual responses addressed. The vicar similarly led and shared collective worship from the church.

"Staff worked with families, removing barriers to communication, ensuring weekly contact. Leaders delivered free school meals parcels which made families feel a valuable part of the school community."

Headteacher Cath Crossley said : "The whole school is absolutely delighted to have achieved the recognition for the positive impact of our school vision on the lives and choices of our children.

“It was wonderful for the inspector to acknowledge that this was a team achievement and that the whole community had contributed to putting our vision into practice."