A SWINDON school celebrated its third Good Ofsted in a row and continued a decade-long streak of great ratings.

An Ofsted inspector had a quick look round Haydonleigh Primary School to check things were still in order after their last inspection four years ago and was happy with what she saw.

Headteacher Frances Billinge said: “I’ve been here 10 years and this is our third Good inspection, which has really made my day. It’s always felt like a great place to work, with enthusiastic children, supportive parents and hard-working staff.

“It’s not happened by chance. We’ve expanded significantly over the last few years and we made a promise not to change the quality of the provision, so we strategically planned to be one step ahead by problem solving and recruiting high-quality staff.

“We’ve taken on 30 extra children each year for six years and though I can’t know everything about everyone, my management team are placed so that every pupil in the school is looked after, which is reassuring for the parents.

“We're really pleased with this result and it’s nice to have the hard work of our governors, staff, parents and pupils validated by this report.”

The school had full inspections in 2015 and 2012, both Good, and a short inspection at the end of last year which confirmed that their high standards had been maintained.

Ofsted inspector Julie Carrington noted: “The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection.

“Pupils told inspectors that they enjoy school. This is seen in pupils’ high rates of attendance, which are consistently above the national average. Pupils are usually well motivated and take full opportunity of the teaching on offer. They are polite and courteous, and typically collaborate well together in lessons and at social times.”

To earn an Outstanding rating, the school needs to ensure that the teaching of phonics to pupils in Reception and Year 1 who have lower-than-average speaking and reading knowledge allows them to catch up to the standard expected, and that teaching enables pupils with average attainment to achieve the highest possible standards they can.