AN inspector has praised long-running strategies to improve reading and engage families at a Bradford Primary school.

St Matthew’s CE Primary was once again judged to be “good” in its most recent Ofsted inspection.

The school was also judged good at the last inspection in 2013, and the Ofsted report said the quality of education had been maintained.

A letter by inspectors to the school praises the improvements made over the last five years, during which Kay Remmer was Deputy Headteacher and has been Headteacher since January 2016.

Mrs Remmer, who returned to school after Easter following a long-term sickness absence, said: “The letter clearly recognises the work everyone involved in school has done over the past few years to bring about improvements, in particular standards, reading and parental engagement.”

The letter also praises the work of Acting Headteacher Nicki Deane, who joined as Deputy Headteacher in September 2017. The letter says: “You have made an impressive start in identifying the main priorities for improvement based on your accurate knowledge of the school’s strengths and weaknesses.”

On the school’s focus on reading, the letter says: “Leaders’ actions to ensure that pupils develop a love of reading have been very effective. Every time I spoke to pupils about their reading, their faces visibly lit up as they talked passionately about their favourite authors and the books they have enjoyed reading in class.

"Leaders have made sure that right from children’s start in Nursery, books are central to the learning experience.”

Leaders’ actions to improve the teaching of phonics have also been successful, the letter says. The proportion of pupils meeting the standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check has improved over time and was in line with the national average for the first time in 2017

The school was tasked with improving parental engagement following the October, 2013 inspection, and since then that has been a major focus of the school. In 2015 the school gained the Engaging Families Award and in April, 2017, Bradford South MP Judith Cummins presented St Matthew’s with the Leading Parent Partnership Award.

The letter says: “Regular workshops and a wealth of guidance on the school’s website are welcomed by parents and carers, who say that they now feel more able to support their children’s learning at home. There are also more opportunities for parents to be involved in the school community. For example, they can take classes which sometimes lead to gaining a qualification or can participate in parent and toddler events.”

The inspector says the standards that pupils achieve are improving over time. Although the end of early years and Key Stage 1, children have reached national average, the same cannot be said of pupils at the end of Key Stage 2. “However, you are aware of the task ahead and are clear about some of the most urgent requirements. For example, the assessment system is in the early stages of its implementation and is not yet providing you with an accurate enough picture of pupils’ attainment and progress in each subject and year group.”