MARSHWOOD Primary Academy might be one of west Dorset's smallest schools - it has ? pupils - but it's big on quality according to Ofsted inspectors.

In their latest report inspectors praised the school's staff for their tireless work to provide 'a good level of education and a curriculum that extends pupils thinking and challenges them with new concepts'.

Marshwood CE Primary Academy, part of the Acorn Multi Academy Trust, has been judged a good school following the recent Ofsted inspection.

The school’s head Luke Owen ,who joined the school in January 2015, said: “As head of school, I am delighted that the hard work and dedication of the staff, pupils, parents, governors and community at Marshwood has been recognised by this inspection.”

“I would like to thank our executive head, Andrea Rice, and our colleagues across the Acorn Multi Academy Trust for their ongoing support. The report provides us with a firm foundation for the future as we continue on our journey to excellence, through continuing to provide the best possible education for our children.”

Mr Owen, with the assistance of Andrea Rice, was credited with “working tirelessly to ensure that pupils experience a rich curriculum, both in school and out.”

Mr Owen said in doing so the school had carefully developed the outside facilities, so that children enjoy more space for creative and physical activities.

This has resulted in enhanced provision for reception children, who are “given activities which extend their thinking and challenge them with new concepts,” says the report.

Ofsted inspectors also highlighted the relentless focus on improving the quality of teaching so that pupils continue to make good progress.

In doing so Ofsted recognised the impact the new leadership and teaching team were making, particularly with regards to making significant improvements to pupils’ reading, writing, spelling and grammatical knowledge.

They did say that teachers assess the progress pupils make effectively and guide them well when they are unsure.

"In this way, pupils make progress but the middle-attaining and most able pupils could still be challenged further in their thinking and writing."

The effectiveness of the safeguarding procedures and its strong culture of safety,were also highlighted, as was the way it worked sensitively with parents and external agencies to monitor and support any vulnerable pupils.

The success of the school's creative curriculum was further highlighted with the inspector saying by choosing topics that reflected the pupils’ interests helped to keep them engaged.

Inspect Kathy Maddocks said the next steps include making sure teaching improves so that pupils are provided with challenge to deepen their thinking in the core and wider curriculum and that pupils make the best use of their literacy skills when writing at greater depth.