By Jonathan Grieve

Pupils and staff from a village primary school have been praised following an inspection.

Estyn visited Eyton CIW Voluntary Controlled Primary School in Bangor Road, Eyton, in October.

And following the visit, inspectors have highlighted positive aspects about the school in a recently published report.

Currently, there are 62 pupils on roll, aged from three to 11, including four nursery children who attend part-time. There are three mixed-age classes at the school.

About nine per cent of pupils are eligible for free school meals. This is well below the national average (19 per cent).

The school identifies that around 11 per cent of pupils have additional learning needs. This is well below the national average (21 per cent).

The headteacher, Louise Whitgreave, took up her post in January 2017. The school’s previous inspection was in July 2012.

The report states: “Most pupils make good progress in line with their abilities, although boys tend to perform less well than girls in key stage two.

”Nearly all pupils have very positive attitudes to their work and develop well as resilient learners.

”They behave very well in classes and around the school. Most pupils develop their numeracy and information and communication technology (ICT) skills well across the curriculum.

”Many pupils write effectively for a broad range of purposes. Most teaching is good and staff provide a broad, rich and engaging curriculum.

”The quality of care, support and guidance for pupils is good. The recently appointed headteacher provides strong leadership and has a clear vision for improvement.

”Other members of staff and the governing body support her well. Rigorous self-evaluation and development planning procedures ensure that the school continues to improve.

”The school manages its resources efficiently.“

All areas of the school which were inspected were deemed ‘good’, which means there are strong features, although minor aspects may require improvement.

Four recommendations were put to staff to continue to improve in the future.

They were tasked with improving the quality of pupils’ spelling and punctuation in key stage two and ensuring that all teachers provide written feedback to pupils that helps them to improve their work.

It was also recommended to reduce the relative underperformance of boys in key stage two compared to that of girls, and provide greater opportunities for pupils to develop and use their Welsh language skills.

The school will draw up an action plan to address the recommendations from the inspection.