Quality of teaching has improved and pupils now make good progress at a Helston primary school that has raised its rating from 'requires improvement' to 'good' at its latest Ofsted inspection.

St Michael's Church of England Primary School was visited by inspectors at the start of this month and a report published this week rated all areas of the school as 'good'.

It is a step up from the last inspection in November 2016, at which Ofsted rated the school as 'requires improvement' overall, as well as in leadership, quality of teaching and pupil outcome.

However, Ofsted inspectors have now said that the school's leaders have taken "effective action to improve the school" following the last report, in particular strengthening the quality of teaching, which is now good.

Following the report being published, head of school Claire Johnson said: “I cannot stress enough what this means to the whole St Michael’s community. We are delighted that the hard work of our staffing team has been recognised, and we were particularly moved by the sheer volume of positive comments received by the inspectors from parents.”

Inspectors said pupils are making good progress in reading, writing and maths - something that was picked up as inconsistent in the last report - and now leave in year six well equipped for secondary school.

The teaching of phonics to younger pupils has improved and pupils were found to "get off to a good start", although inspectors found that in some year groups teachers did not allow the most able pupils to build on their previous knowledge, meaning they were not being challenged sufficiently.

However, disadvantaged pupils or those with special educational needs and disabilities were found to be well supported and made good progress.

Pupil behaviour has been described as good and the children told inspectors everyone has friends to look after them.

A few parents responding to the Ofsted survey were concerned about bullying, but the report says that pupils were "very clear that any issues are very quickly sorted out" and there were no problems with bullying, while the school's records showed any reports were taken very seriously and behaviour monitored closely.

The report states that headteacher Mrs Johnson has been "key" to these improvements, saying of her: "She has high expectations. She is approachable and collaborative. Necessary changes have been implemented effectively while maintaining high staff morale."

It adds that Mrs Johnson and the multi-academy trust that oversees the school had "rightly recognised" the need to strengthen the school's leadership further and coaching had been provided to some staff.

Inspectors have said that in order to improve further the school needs to be makes sure teaching is always of high quality and that all pupils learn the best they can, and that the curriculum and activities planned allow all pupils, particularly the most able, to

deepen their learning and further encourage their creativity and imagination.

Stuart Renshaw, chief executive officer of Celtic Cross Education, the multi-academy trust that oversees the Saints' Way Hub - the collection of schools that St Michael's is part of - said: “This Ofsted report recognises the success of the school’s journey since its previous inspection.

"Work is already well underway to address the areas of improvement noted within the report, to ensure this momentum continues.”