PUPILS and staff at an East Yorkshire village primary school have been bowled over after a recent Ofsted inspection.

Inspectors were at Sutton Upon Derwent CE earlier this year and found that it has maintained it's 'good' rating.

Executive head teacher Bracken Holtby celebrated by joining pupils for a game of cricket.

The school was last inspected in 2017 when it was also rated good and it federated with Bugthorpe CE Primary last year, the two schools having worked very closely for some time.

Ofsted inspectors Alison Stephenson and Mike Smit highlighted the ‘Christian values throughout the school’ and also the ‘success of the leadership teams’ and said the information they gained from Parent View was ‘very positive’, with many parents and carers using the same words to describe the leadership and staff as ‘friendly, approachable and welcoming’.

They observed that ‘behaviour is good’ within school, the ‘children feel safe’ and, during the feedback session at the end of the day, they complimented the children in school and described them as ‘impeccable'.

When talking about things which need improving, inspectors said: "Staff are trialling a new phonics scheme, recently introduced by leaders have not received any recent training. This means there are some small inconsistencies in the support adults give when hearing them read and in the delivery of interventions.

"Leaders should ensure consistency of practise as staff use the new programme."

With just 70 pupils on roll the school is on the small side.

Mr Holtby, who took over the job of head in July 2019, said he was challenged to promote collaboration and working together for success.

That school was inspected earlier in the year and also maintained it's 'good' Ofsted rating.

Chair of governors, Ali Ross said: "Thank you to each and every single member of our loving school family, the ‘experienced teachers’ and staff, who create a ‘caring, friendly and safe environment for all pupils’, the head teacher, who at the earlier Ofsted inspection at Bugthorpe, was described as ‘the exemplary head teacher’, who has brought about such ‘positive changes’ and a ‘real federation’ of the two schools, and of course the wonderful pupils and parents we are lucky enough to have.

"After receiving the feedback at the end of the inspection day, governors and staff felt that the inspectors had given a fair reflection of our school and gained an insight into our lovely pupils.

"This is highlighted in the published report as they quote our school vision of each child being encouraged to ‘follow your pathway’.

"I'd like to thank parents for their ongoing support."