A WEST Somerset school has been praised by education inspectors who visited it for the first time in six years.

An Ofsted team spent a day in St Michael’s Church of England First School, Minehead, to check if it still deserved the ‘good’ rating it received after their last visit in June, 2019.

Lead inspector Neil Swait reported the school, part of Beacon Education Trust, had taken ‘effective action’ to maintain the standards which were identified in the previous inspection.

Mr Swait said St Michael’s was a ‘friendly and welcoming’ school with pupils who were safe, happy, well looked after, behaved well, and worked hard.

He said: “Most pupils meet the high expectations that the school has for their achievement.

“Pupils are encouraged to take an active role in the wider community, which includes maintaining close links with a local care home.

“Pupils benefit from a range of opportunities and experiences to develop their character, confidence, and resilience.”

Mr Swait said although St Michael’s taught pupils to understand and celebrate differences, their knowledge of ‘fundamental British values and a range of world religions’ was limited.

He said: “As a result, pupils are not as well prepared for life in modern Britain as they could be.”

St Michael’s, which has 146 pupils aged five to nine years, also has an indoor swimming pool on its Watery Lane campus.

Mr Swait said the pool provided an opportunity for pupils to swim regularly, starting in the reception year, and consequently, most were capable swimmers by the time they left the school.

He said: “Since the previous inspection, the school has reviewed its curriculum.

“It has identified the knowledge that pupils need to learn and remember.

“This knowledge is carefully sequenced, which means that in most subjects, pupils build on what they already know.

“However, in a few subjects, these changes are still relatively new and not fully embedded.

“In these subjects, systems to check on what pupils know and can remember are still being developed.

“Consequently, lessons are not consistently adjusted to address any arising gaps or misconceptions.

“As a result, pupils are not learning as well in these subjects as they could.”

Mr Swait said St Michael’s supported pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) to achieve their full potential.

Headteacher Richard Smith said: “Their inspection was thorough. Very. And rightly so.”

Mr Smith said the inspectors repeatedly visited lessons throughout the day, with an extra keen eye on mathematics and English.

He said the children were observed across year groups and across the curriculum, their exercise books were checked, and feedback gathered ‘forensically’ on everything from bullying to school rules and extra-curricular activities and opportunities.

Staff were also interviewed on a wide range of topics, and Beacon trustees were quizzed about their monitoring of the school and holding people to account.

Mr Smith said the inspectors showed minute attention to detail, with ‘not one stone left unturned’.

He said: “The inspectors’ thoroughness was both reassuring and encouraging.”