Salterlee Primary School: Praise from Ofsted inspectors for Halifax school 'where pupils are polite and friendly, and teachers make learning fun'

Salterlee Primary School, in Shibden, continues to be a ‘Good’ school, say inspectors from the education watchdog.

"Teachers plan lessons that encourage pupils to contribute well,” said their report. “Pupils say that teachers make learning fun.

"Pupils enjoy coming to school and learning with their friends. They are polite, respectful and friendly to each other and to adults. Pupils always have someone who will play with them at lunch or breaktimes.

"Pupils behave well. The school is a calm and orderly environment, and it is well looked after.

"Bullying is very rare. The school does not tolerate it.

"Pupils know that, if they are worried, there are staff who will help them. They have great trust in staff.

"The headteacher and staff are highly respected by parents, carers and pupils. Most parents appreciate the work that the school is doing for their children.

"Parents know that their children are safe in school and well cared for.”

The inspectors said the school has a well-organised curriculum which develops pupils’ knowledge and expertise across a broad range of subjects.

And they said disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND benefit from following the same curriculum as their peers.

They only identified one area where the school could improve, encouraging work to better meet the needs of pupils in a small number of foundation subjects in mixed-age classes.

Lucy Harper, head of school, said: “This is testament to the hard work and teamwork of our staff, pupils, governors, and school community.

"I am immensely proud of our children, who demonstrated to the inspectors that they are flourishing. Our pupils wowed them!”

Polaris Multi-Academy Trust, which Salterlee Primary School is a member of, was also commended for easing staff’s workload.

CEO of the trust Steve Evans said: “The whole team at Salterlee should be extremely proud of the praise received in this report and the work they have done to create such a positive and welcoming learning environment for the pupils and the community it serves.”