St John’s Primary in Totnes has been rated ‘good’ by Ofsted inspectors.

Headteacher William Jaworski said: “We are thrilled Ofsted judges us to be a good school. The inspectors were rigorous but fair.

“Their report reflects what we do well and it will also help us to get even better. Now it is published, we are excited to be able to share what the inspectors found with the whole school community, especially all our parents.”

The inspectors concluded the school is warm and welcoming, and pupils are ‘confident and resilient,’ as a result of the ‘creative and ambitious’ learning environmental.

They also found the children to be polite and respectful towards adults and have plenty of opportunities to learn to be responsible. The report said: “Some pupils take on additional roles and responsibilities. For example, older pupils read to younger pupils and run lunchtime clubs.

“Some pupils grow their own food and sell this in the local market. Examples such as this emphasise the strong sense of involvement with the local community.”

Even the very youngest children learn to be independent early on, said the inspectors, and the pupils are given ‘challenging’ activities to support their learning, including reading and maths.

The report said the children who need more support to learn are able to join in properly in lessons as teachers make sensitive changes to what they are teaching.

The inspectors wrote: “Leaders have established a creative and ambitious curriculum. They link the subjects pupils learn to a whole-school theme.”

The inspectors listened to children reading during their visit and found they read ‘widely and with fluency’ because of the careful way teachers teach reading, said inspectors.

When addressing what the school needs to do to improve, the report stated: “In some subjects, teachers do not use what they learn from assessment well enough. As a result, pupils do not build securely on what they have learned before.

“Leaders should ensure that teachers’ use of assessment supports pupils to know and remember more over time.”

The inspectors praised the leaders in the school, including the headteacher and the school’s governors and reported that all felt they belonged to a team.

Academies for Character and Excellence Academy Trust chairman Roger Willoughby, said: “All members of the board are delighted by the inspectors’ findings on Totnes St John’s.

“We congratulate all the staff and children on their hard work and this success.

“We look forward to continuing to support the school, and the others in our trust, on their journeys to excellence.”