A VILLAGE school has received a glowing report from Ofsted inspectors.

Oxenhope Primary has been graded 'good' by the inspection team, which visited for two days last month.

The inspectors – leader Christine Millett and her colleague Steve Rigby – described the teaching as "consistently good and sometimes outstanding".

They said pupils made good progress in their learning and achieved well.

Tribute is also paid to the children's behaviour and the school curriculum.

"Pupils are polite, welcoming and friendly," says the report.

"The school's lively, rich curriculum engages pupils' interests fully and they become absorbed in their learning. Pupils agree that learning is fun!"

John Parkin, deputy headteacher at the 205-pupil school, said he was delighted with the inspectors' comments.

"We are very pleased the report recognises that Oxenhope Primary is a good place to be at school," he added.

"It is a reflection of the ongoing hard work of all the children, staff, parents and governors."

Ofsted says staff are committed to raising standards and morale is high.

The headteacher is "extremely ambitious" for the school and is well supported by senior leaders.

Pupils' standards in English and maths are rising and inspectors praise the "effective management and stimulating learning environment" in early years, which they say ensure youngsters get off to a good start and become confident learners.

The spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils is described as strong.

Governors support and challenge the school in equal measure, are knowledgeable and track the work of the school closely.

But the report states the school needs to improve the quality of its teaching from good to outstanding to accelerate progress further.

Particular areas identified for improvement are mathematics, spelling, punctuation and grammar.

Inspectors say some pupils have gaps in their basic number skills, marking does not always identify errors in grammar, punctuation and spelling, and the impact of teaching assistants in supporting learning is sometimes variable.