A TINY Exmoor infant school has been slated by Government education inspectors despite receiving help from a federation of neighbouring schools.

Governors of All Saints Church of England School, in Dulverton, have also agreed to share a campus with next-door Dulverton Junior School to improve pupil opportunities.

But Ofsted inspectors said the infant school ‘requires improvement’ in all areas they inspected.

Lead inspector Gavin Summerfield said: “Governors have steered the school through a challenging time.

“They fulfil their statutory duties and are fully committed to the development of the school.

“However, until very recently they were not holding leaders to account and checking in sufficient depth what the school has told them about the quality of education.

“As a result, governors do not yet have a fully accurate view of the areas that the school must urgently prioritise.”

Mr Summerfield said pupils enjoyed attending the school, which has 56 children aged three to seven years, and were ‘happy and safe’.

But there was uncertainty about the effect of a new curriculum, meaning ‘too many pupils are not ready for the next stage in their education’.

He said: “However, the school is becoming more settled following several changes in leadership.

“The school is committed to getting it right for pupils.

“The past instability of leadership at the school has affected the quality of education pupils receive.

“Governors have strengthened the school’s leadership by appointing new senior leaders who have a strong vision and high expectations.

“However, the vision is not yet realised.

“Staff value the support that the new leadership team provides. 

“While workload has been high, staff are proud to work at the school and value its community ethos.”

Mr Summerfield said there was a ‘broad and balanced’ curriculum but sometimes activities did not align with the intended learning because the school lacked a secure overview of each subject and expertise to check how well the curriculum was implemented.

While personal, social, and health education was well planned, and pupils learned how to keep safe online, eat healthily and maintain healthy relationships, the broader and wider experiences in school beyond the classroom were limited for pupils of all ages.

Mr Summerfield said: “Pupils do not have a depth of knowledge about different cultures, religions, or races.

“As a result, pupils do not learn enough about fundamental British values and are not fully prepared for life in modern Britain.”

The Exmoor Federation which runs both the infant and junior schools in Dulverton has been working in a strategic partnership for the past 12 months with the Moorland Federation, which has five schools in Dunster, Timberscombe, Cutcombe, Porlock, and Exford, as well as supporting Langford Budville, near Wellington.

A statement issued by Moorland executive head Naomi Philp and All Saints’ headteacher Carys Barnett said recent improvements had been noted by the inspectors.

The statement said: “We appreciated the Ofsted team’s input and we understand clearly what we need to do to make our school good, and then outstanding, for all our pupils.”