SCHOOLS watchdog Ofsted has rated Wiveliscombe Primary School as ‘good’ in its first full inspection for a decade.

Ofsted inspectors had given the 200-pupil school a ‘good’ grade when they visited in 2013 and since then had only carried out a short inspection in 2017.

Earlier this year they re-visited the school, which also manages the nearby Paddocks Nursery and Pre-School and takes children from the ages of 0 to 11 years.

They again described it as ‘good’ in every category.

Lead inspector Lakmini Harkus said pupils enjoyed going to the school and leaders had created an inclusive environment, evidenced by welcoming several Ukrainian youngsters into the school which had built a culture where pupils showed acceptance of others.

Ms Harkus said the youngsters enjoyed a rich and varied curriculum which included weekly forest school sessions and a range of clubs, such as samba and origami, helping to develop their interests and talents beyond the academic.

She said headteacher Lucy Crowe had stabilised the school since joining in August, 2020, during the Covid pandemic, and had provided effective leadership, which many parents appreciated.

The curriculum was carefully crafted and reception year children learned through hands-on experiences such as attending lambing sessions on local farms.

Resources to support learning were carefully selected, with one example being the use pf models to show the life cycle of a plant, with pupils then seeing the learning in action by growing vegetables.

The school’s high expectations for behaviour resulted in a calm and orderly environment and a favourite activity of pupils was story time with the school’s guinea pigs to celebrate good behaviour.

Ms Harkus said during the visit the inspectors met with Mrs Crowe, assistant headteacher Rachael Hill, and other staff, pupils, governors, and representatives from the local authority.

They also carried out ‘deep dives’ into early reading, mathematics, and physical education teaching, and listened to reading by pupils in years one, two, and three.

Wiveliscome is part of the Tone Valley Partnership, a charter of collaboration to which it signed up along with primary schools in Cotford St Luke, Milverton, Lydeard St Lawrence, and Oake Bradford and Nynehead, as well as Kingsmead School, Wiveliscombe.