CHILDREN and staff at Rockwell Green Primary School are celebrating after the school retained its ‘Outstanding’ status during a church school inspection.

All Church of England primary schools are inspected every five years in addition to their Ofsted inspection and four judgements are possible, from Outstanding to Inadequate.

Father Jeremy Hellier, who inspected the school, found it to be outstanding in all three sections.

He met children, parents, governors and staff and was very impressed.

The report said the distinctiveness and effectiveness of the school as a Church of England school was outstanding and highlighted the following points:

The headteacher and senior team, together with the governors, provide strong spiritual leadership which is the foundation of the school’s Christian distinctiveness.

The impact of the school’s ethos on spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is clear in the confident way pupils speak about the school’s values and spiritual matters.

The distinctive Christian values are deeply embedded in the life of the school and provide the environment that allows all pupils to flourish in all aspects of learning.

A very high priority is given to worship and religious education so that all learners understand that prayer is the ‘golden thread’ that links all the values.