KINGSDOWN School impressed Ofsted with its efforts to make much needed improvements towards becoming a good school after last summer’s inspection.

Earlier this month, a monitoring inspection was held at the school in Stratton after the education watchdog said it required improvement across three areas, including in the achievement of pupils, the quality of teaching, and in the leadership and management of the school.

In a letter to the headteacher, Ofsted praised the work that had been done so far, which included introducing a new marking policy, welcoming more staff in the maths department and ensuring teachers continue to receive up-to-date training.

In the letter Ofsted inspector Simon Rowe said: “Senior leaders and governors are taking effective action to tackle the areas requiring improvement identified at the recent section 5 inspection.

“Staff understand, and accept, the raised expectations placed on them. A positive and supportive atmosphere is evident across the school.

“The 2014 GCSE examination results demonstrate that students are making better progress in most subjects than before.

“Teachers now work to more challenging targets, linked directly to students’ progress, further raising expectations.

“Students now routinely respond to this marking to demonstrate their understanding of how to improve their work.

“Books show that all staff are now applying the new policy and that it is having a positive effect.

“Teachers are accessing useful support from local schools to develop their teaching and subjects.

“Swindon local authority effectively supports governors through regular updates on key educational issues and training to ensure that they have a clearer understanding of students’ achievement.”

He also said that in order to continue making rapid progress, the school should include measurable short-term targets within improvement plans to regularly check on the progress the school is making.

The findings were welcomed by Kingsdown School’s headteacher, Wendy Conaghan, who was pleased the inspector had taken note of what progress had already been made.

She said: “We were really pleased. We had started putting in place action already in the summer after the inspection and it was clear that he was visibly pleased with the improvements we have made so far.

“It is a true reflection of the tenacity and commitment we have to ensure Kingsdown continues to move towards good and outstanding in the future.

“We will continue to strive towards improvements anyway because we don't just want to be a good school.”

Kingsdown can expect to receive another full inspection by Ofsted before July 2016.

l To read the report yourself, you can download it from www.ofsted.gov.uk/inspection-reports/find-inspection-report/provider/ELS/137265.