CHILDREN and teachers at a Worcestershire school which was branded inadequate by Ofsted last year are celebrating after a new report found it had been greatly improved.

A report into Fladbury CE First School in January 2013 found pupils were not progressing fast enough and the standard of teaching was not up to scratch.

But a new report raised the school’s ranking to ‘good’ after inspectors found a significant improvement in pupil achievement and the quality of teaching.

Headteacher Julie Wilson, who joined the school in January 2013 when the inadequate report was released, said she was “thrilled” by the result.

“When I joined Fladbury in January 2013 I made a pledge to parents to take the school forward to outstanding and this inspection proves that we are well on the way to achieving this,” she said.

“The support I have received from the staff, children, parents, governors and local authority has been second to none.

“We have a great team and I know we have a bright future.”

She thanked her colleagues for their work to improve the school over the past year.

“We are so lucky to have enthusiastic children who want to learn, as well as very supportive parents and governors,” she said.

“Our Ofsted success is all down to team work, and everyone in the school community should feel very proud of what we have achieved.”

Chairman of governors Rev Clive Fairclough called the result “fantastic”.

“We have all worked incredibly hard to turn the school around and I congratulate everyone on this incredible achievement.

“I understand that it is quite rare to move from inadequate to good in such a short timescale and this is a testament to the leadership and staff at the school and the pupils and parents who make such a fantastic contribution.

“It’s great news.”

The new report singled out the progress of pupils in years three and four in reading, writing and maths for praise as well as the improvement in standards, which has increased at a faster rate than the national average.

Areas for improvement included pupil's speaking skills and the lack of opportunities for children to learn about different cultures.

The full report is available at www.fladbury.worcs.sch.uk.