A WHITEHAVEN primary school has been rated as ‘good’ by Ofsted - with pupils’ personal development found to be ‘outstanding’.

Jericho Primary School has been praised for its ‘exceptional’ personal development of pupils following an inspection by the education watchdog in November.

Inspectors also heaped praise on the ‘friendly’ and ‘welcoming’ school  for its ‘ambitious’ and ‘bespoke’ curriculum, ‘kind’ and ‘caring’ pupils and staff with ‘strong subject knowledge’.

The report says: “The programme for pupils’ personal development is striking. Enrichment experiences are carefully designed to build pupils’ understanding of current affairs, as well as fundamental British values.

“The school has embedded important aspects of pupils’ wider learning and development, such as social skills, resilience and self-awareness, throughout all aspects of the school day.

“Pupils understand and embrace the school’s values. They demonstrate high levels of respect for each other and for the people in their local community.

“The school has high expectations of pupils’ learning and behaviour. Pupils live up to these expectations. They apply themselves to their learning in lessons.

“Pupils relish the impressive range of opportunities that the school offers to develop their talents and interests.”

The report goes on to say that the school has been through ‘a period of significant change’, including moving into a new school building but leaders have ‘remained focused on identifying and improving the quality of education for pupils’.

Inspectors also noted that the school has prioritised reading and pupils ‘quickly learn’ to read confidently and fluently.

Headteacher James Blackwell said: “We have so much to celebrate at Jericho and I am delighted with our recent Ofsted Inspection report. It reflects the good quality of academic education that the children receive. 

“I am so overjoyed that the report also reflects the 'outstanding' personal development and well-being work we do here. In 2022 we were awarded Outstanding Happy School status, now Ofsted has confirmed just how exceptional we are!

“This result validates our wonderful Jericho family's hard work and dedication. Well done everyone!”