A SMALLER than average primary school has very positive features, according to Ofsted inspectors.

Their findings follow a two day inspection of St Clare's Catholic Primary School on Hawthorn Road in Lache.

Overall, they rate the school as good, both for its effectiveness and its ability to carry out sustained improvement.

Inspector Diane Auton told the children in a letter: “We found that St Clare's is a good school and that it is a happy place for you to learn and grow together.

“You are well-behaved and polite young people.

“You work hard in lessons, you enjoy your work and you get on well with each other and with the grown-ups in school."

The staff, says the inspector, look after the children well and are working hard to make sure they are taught well.

She concluded: “You are making good progress in your learning and standards are rising.”

To help make St Clare's the best school it can possibly be, the inspector says she has asked the school to keep on improving teaching and to make sure that all the children make equally good progress in mathematics.

Staff should improve the way they share information with each other about the progress children are making each term and there should be improvements to the outdoor area for the children in the reception class so that it includes an area with grass and trees as well as the hardsurfacing.

The inspector says pupils can help by continuing to do their best and by continuing to be happy learners.

In her report on the school, which has 127 children aged 4 -11, the inspector added: “This good, inclusive school serves the needs of its community with dedication and care."