A school encouraging pupils to “have trusting relationships with staff” has received a glowing Ofsted report.

Chatburn Church of England School, in Sawley Road, previously received an ‘outstanding’, in 2012, however, this year they were given a ‘good’ in all judgement categories.

But inspectors praised the provider, after an inspection on October 15 and 16, with particular emphasis on a “refined curriculum” and the school vision for pupils to be “calm, work hard and be kind.”

The report said: “Pupils, including children in the early years, are proud to belong to this warm and welcoming school.

“They have trusting relationships with staff and know that staff will help them if they have any worries. Pupils behave well in lessons and play happily together at social times.

“The school provides pupils with many opportunities to contribute to and become positive members of their community.

"Pupils play an active role in the development of the school’s sensory and wildlife garden.”

With access to a broad curriculum, pupils achieve well across all subjects and the school has considered the different needs of pupils within the mixed-age classes.

Teachers were said to explain new learning clearly and use resources to support pupils learning.

However, at times inspectors consider the activities that pupils complete do not support them effectively in applying their newly learned knowledge, which means students struggle to remember key knowledge in the longer term.

The report continued: “The school uses a range of strategies to check on how well pupils are learning.

"However, in a small number of subjects, systems to check for understanding are still being refined.

“In these subjects, current checks on pupils’ learning are not as precise as they could be in identifying small gaps or misconceptions.

"This hinders the school from being able to accurately check that pupils have a secure foundation on which to build subsequent learning.”

As a key part of the school’s vision they have invested in reading and lived out all aspects of its work, with a rich collection of books in their classroom and the outside ‘reading shed’.

The school’s phonics programme supports pupils well to learn the knowledge and skills that they need to be able to read, with effective support given to pupils who find reading difficult.

High expectations for attendance were also noted, and as a result, most pupils were considered to attend well.

The report continued: “Pupils enjoy their lessons and are eager to share their ideas. They take pride in their work.

“Children in the early years are keen to learn. For example, they enjoyed observing what would happen as they mixed different herbs in water. Pupils have positive attitudes to learning.”

They were also considered to broaden pupils’ understanding of diversity and pupils were clear that everyone was welcome at their school.

Providers have ensured that children with SEND are identified swiftly and met consistently from the moment that pupils join the school.

Safeguarding arrangements were considered to be effective.