A HEADTEACHER has been praised as "instrumental" in improving a Worcestershire primary school.

Andrew Massey, headteacher at Martley CE Primary School, near Worcester, has been commended in the latest Ofsted report published on June 6.

The school was judged as 'good' after previously being criticised at its last inspection in 2015 as 'requiring improvement'.

The report said that Mr Massey's drive to make sure that everyone is supporting the same vision had been 'instrumental' in improving the school.

Inspectors who visited the Martley village school on May 10 and 11, noted that teaching was "much improved", and in most cases, teachers ensure pupils take part in lessons that challenge them.

The school which has 120 children on its roll, was found good in four areas: effectiveness of leadership, quality of learning, personal development and outcomes for children but the early years provision was still judged as 'requiring improvement'.

The report noted that, since the last inspection, leaders and governors had bought about a 'cohesive' approach to driving the school.

Although inspectors said leaders ensured assessment information was accurate, therefore allowing staff to help pupils who have fallen behind, in the pre-school provision, information is not clear on how much progress youngsters are making.

The report said that although pupils are achieving "greater depth" of learning in mathematics this was not yet the case in reading and writing.

However, inspectors said improvements in the curriculum mean pupils are able to take part in 'creative and motivating' learning.

Inspectors said the school need to assess students' progress systematically, ensuring this is tracked rigorously and use that information to tailor learning activities.

They also said Martley needed to further improve teaching, learning and assessment so that writing standards in key stage 1 reflect that of reception and key stage 2 and ensure that by the end of key stage 2 pupils are achieving greater depth of learning in reading and writing.

Headteacher Andrew Massey, who has worked at the school for seven years, said: "We are really pleased with the report as it demonstrates the progress we have made in particularly in the last two years.

"The school has been on a significant journey during this time with many changes and developments. More are planned over the next couple of years with some building projects, building redesigns and continuing curriculum innovations.

"All very exciting-the report is a sign post for our continuing journey towards excellence."