AN infant school is celebrating having turned around its Ofsted rating from “requires improvement” to being rated as “good”.

Monkwick Infant School and Nursery in Colchester was visited by inspectors in January 2017.

The school was told it required improvement, the second lowest of four ratings, as teaching was inconsistent and pupils were not making enough progress in English and maths.

However, the school has turned its fortunes around and following another inspection last month the infant school has been given a rating of “good” in all areas.

The school is part of the Sigma Trust.

Headteacher Claire Holmes said the school’s pupils deserved the best.

She said: “We are so delighted the values and ethos of the school have been recognised and the excellent hard work of all the staff has been commended.

“The children in this community deserve the very best in their early years of education and this report reflects no child is left behind.

“This is very much a school where the children and their families really matter and inspectors reported the welfare and safety of all pupils in school is paramount to staff, and parents and carers are positive about the school.”

Inspectors said the progress of all pupils was good due to the fact teachers have strong subject knowledge, have high expectations of what pupils can achieve and make accurate assessments to check pupils’ understanding of new learning.

Behaviour was described as good in the school and the pupils were found to be polite and respectful.

The only areas highlighted for further improvement were attendance and assessment in Early Years.

Since joining the Sigma Trust, the school has been supported by Gavin Bradley, the primary executive lead, and the impact of this was recognised in the report.

Jeff Brindle, chief executive of the Sigma Trust, praised the school for its achievement.

He said: “This is a fantastic end to the school year for everyone associated with the school.

“I am so proud of the dedication and commitment all staff have shown to the school.

“Throughout the two days the pupils were a real credit to the school and there were some really positive comments from parents.

“It is great to see the work of all recognised.”