A SCHOOL near York has turned the tide after Ofsted told them they "require improvement" two years ago.
Long Marston CE Primary School received the low score following an inspection in November, 2022 and the grade was said to have had a significant 'impact on the community'.
However, just over two years later, the school received the overall rating of 'good' - as well as being deemed 'outstanding' in early years provision.
The latest Ofsted inspection read: "Pupils are safe and feel happy within the nurturing, family ethos.
"Pupils benefit from a much-improved quality of education."
The schools executive head teacher, Lauren Evans, spoke on the efforts behind the improvements.
"There’s been three years of exceptionally hard work from the staff and the community to turn things around," she said.
"To get an overall good judgement was absolutely phenomenal."
After joining the school in September 2023, Lauren conceded that "things needed a lot of work".
The poor inspection in 2022 found that the school required improvement in the quality of education, personal development, and their leadership and management.
In the report on the 2022 inspection, Ofsted said: "The school has faced a challenging time with a high staff turnover and turbulence in leadership.
"These changes have affected the quality of education."
All of the areas that required improvement are now rated good, something which Lauren attributed to the staff working "exceptionally hard".
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She added: "The community has really supported us.
"There was an impact on the community, the school didn't have a fantastic reputation. But they're very loyal and we retained a lot of children."
Lauren also spoke of the community involvement in the school's changed fortunes.
"Parents are exceptionally proud of the journey we have been on. There's not a day where I don't go out to the gate and have parents say congratulations."
Lauren explained that the changes have come from a redesign of their curriculum, something which she said "stretches above and beyond".
She also credited the teachers working in their fields of expertise, and the school developing a more "outward looking" approach.
"We’re really trying to be outward looking and not just keep ourselves to ourselves," she said.
Long Marston Primary School is now looking ahead to the future, as they hope to build on their positive momentum. Lauren said the focus is now on enhancing the voice of their pupils' and becoming the best school they can be.
"We're a small school with big ambitions", she said.
Ofsted outlined ways that Long Marston Primary School could improve on their inspection result even further.
The report added: "Changes to the quality of education are new and not fully embedded. Some pupils do not achieve highly enough and have gaps in their learning that need to be closed rapidly.
"The school should continue their work to support, evaluate and secure high-quality teaching and learning across the school."
The full report can be read here.
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