A WEST Somerset village school judged by education inspectors Ofsted a year ago to be ‘inadequate’ has started to make progress less than two months since becoming an academy.

The 146-year-old Lydeard St Lawrence Primary School was made to join the Bath and Wells Multi Academy Trust on October 1 because it failed the Ofsted inspection.

The trust, overseen by the Diocese of Bath and Wells, has 34 other schools across Somerset, including in Bishops Lydeard and Norton Fitzwarren.

The November, 2021, Ofsted report highlighted how ‘quality of education’ and ‘personal development’ in the school needed to improve and its ‘behaviour and attitudes’ and ‘leadership and management’ were inadequate.

It said pupils did not feel safe due to poor and often aggressive behaviour by a small number of other children and teachers were putting themselves ‘in harm’s way’ to protect them, resulting in several staff leaving.

Now, a monitoring visit by Ofsted inspector Marie Thomas has concluded that although there were still serious weaknesses in the school, effective action was being taken to improve it.

Ms Thomas said improvements began after interim head teacher Janine Donovan was appointed in January of this year.

She said a new teaching team was also introduced, two new governors appointed, and a new special educational needs co-ordinator started in February.

“Leaders understand there is still much to do to get the school, including the quality of education, to where it needs to be,” she said.

“However, they are taking the right steps to build staff confidence and knowledge effectively to secure the required improvements.”

The school has also had its first improvement visit as part of the academy trust by Ofsted inspector Tom Morrison, who focused on maths and was ‘complimentary’.

Miss Donovan said: “Mr Morrison is part of the support package the trust has put in place to support the school. I continue to be impressed with the inclusivity, professionalism, and child-centred approach of the trust. We are truly lucky to be part of it.”

Trust chief executive Nikki Edwards said: “We are delighted to welcome Lydeard St Lawrence into our family of schools. The school has already shown it has much to contribute and in turn will benefit from the skills, expertise, and experience of our central team as it continues its journey of improvement.”