A VILLAGE school has been praised by inspectors for its pupils’ outstanding personal development and wellbeing.

Standards achieved by the 88 pupils at Marden Primary School were deemed “above average” by Ofsted inspectors, who visited the school in January.

Special praise was given to the youngsters’ involvement with the school council and their community, which has featured environmental and energy-saving schemes.

Reporting inspector Ted Wheatley said lessons were interesting, with teachers making learning exciting, leading to pupils enjoying their time at school.

He rated the overall effectiveness of the school as good but felt occasionally work was not hard enough for more able pupils and that marking was “inconsistent”.

Improvements have been made since the school’s last inspection, when youngsters’ writing was not as good as it should have been.

This issue has since been resolved by extending writing tasks and writing in all subjects.

Mr Wheatley also paid tribute to the reception class – Early Years Foundation Stage – saying the children achieve well and make rapid progress from the moment they start.

The personal development and well-being of pupils at this stage was classed as outstanding.

Leadership of the school was reported as good with headteacher Maggi Newton said to be “well supported by staff who work well together to plan and implement improvements”.

The inspector advised the school to ensure work was matched to pupils’ needs and to improve outdoor provision in the reception class area.

Miss Newton said she was delighted to have received such a positive report.

“Marden is a happy school, a bit like an extended family, and the whole school community is continually working on improving the quality of education and learning.”