Staff and pupils at a Huntingdonshire primary school are celebrating after receiving a “good” rating in their Ofsted report.  

Fenstanton and Hilton Primary School was previously graded “requires improvement” following inspections in 2017 and 2020.  

But the inspectors who most recently visited felt the positive changes being implemented were enough to award the school "good" across all five areas assessed.  

The revised and “ambitious” curriculum, particularly its “high quality reading curriculum”, were highlighted in the final report.  

It also mentioned the calm and purposeful learning environments and strong use of school and British values to promote respectful attitudes.    

Headteacher Richard Martin, who joined the school in April 2022, is delighted with the outcome and the impact his new staffing team has made on the school and its pupils.  

He said: “This grading is recognition of the huge amount of work that has been done by our teams of staff and governors, alongside the Local Authority, and of course our pupils and community.  

“We are feeling confident about the school’s future improvement.”  

The inspection was carried out on December 13 and 14, 2023.  

The final report, which was published on January 31, 2024, opens with the “pupils enjoy coming to school and are happy”. 

“They have positive relationships with staff,” it says. 

To improve further, inspectors advised that staff need more training when it comes to implementing the revised curriculum for pupils to learn and achieve well.  

The report also noted the identification of pupils with special educational needs and / or disabilities (SEND) has improved. 

But the school has been advised to provide staff with “consistently precise” guidance on how to meet the needs of SEND pupils. 

Fenstanton and Hilton Primary School, in School Lane, has 216 pupils on the roll. It has preschool provision for children from three years old.