AMHERST Primary School has received plenty of gold stars. The amalgamation of the former infant and junior schools into a single primary in 2003 has proved a success and raised standards, according to the latest validation report.

Head teacher Tracey Moore, who joined in 2003 to lead the merger, said the report had found that the school had made significant progress since the inspections of the infants in 1999 and junior in 2002.

‘It’s down to the teaching staff,’ she said.

‘I am so grateful to work with a team who are so committed to those children taught here.

‘Everyone has worked so hard. It was a well-deserved report.

‘I think our children are amazing,’ she said.

The report highlights the outstanding strengthening in the quality of teaching and learning. The team of six observed 100 lessons during the week, of which 92% were deemed to be of a satisfactory standard, while 52% contained good or excellent features.

These figures compare favourably with the previous inspections, when 87% and 17% respectively were recorded for the infants and 88% and 40% for the juniors.

Mrs Moore, from the Wirral, Merseyside, said staff were keen to continue the progress already made.

‘The validation team identified a significant number of outstanding lessons and we are very keen to ensure that those lessons are shared across the school.

‘We are delighted the team found the behaviour of our children to be exemplary as it is something that all our staff work hard to achieve,’ she said.

‘Our behaviour policy is made clear to every pupil, so they know the boundaries.

‘The children are here to learn and we have high expectations of their behaviour, working hard to make sure that it is exemplary at all times.’

The report noted that Amherst was ‘a very inclusive school that makes provision for pupils with a very wide range of needs’.

The report said that the school’s nursery nurture group of 10 – attended by those who would find starting school difficult – was ‘invaluable.’

‘Our nurture group is a little bit different to those across the rest of the island because it caters for nursery-aged children before they start school,’ said Mrs Moore.

The programme of personal, social, health and citizenship education was described as a great strength to the school which, Mrs Moore said, was down to the leadership of deputy head Sally Rickard.

‘We are a health-promoting school and we have worked really hard to achieve our enhanced status in the National Healthy School Standard,’ said Mrs Moore.

The scheme embraces healthy eating and physical activity and the school continues to seek sponsorship to develop the playground areas.

The school hopes to continue its improvement in information and communication technology, maths, and assessment for learning.

Parent-Teacher Association member Sue Aldwell, whose eight-year-old son Peter attends the school, said the report had reflected the fantastic progress Amherst had made.

‘From a parent’s point of view, the school is fabulous and that comes from the top – the head teacher,’ she said.

‘The children come out of their assembly in the morning 10 feet taller thanks to Mrs Moore and her staff.

‘The children’s behaviour is exemplary and everyone is made welcome,’ she said.

‘My son is autistic and they have made him so welcome – the ethos of the school is to make every child feel welcome.’