DILWYN fought to save its primary school from closure, the pupils have made that fight worthwhile.

A newly released OFSTED report praises pupils’ behaviour at St Mary’s primary as “outstanding”  with the youngster demonstrating “great pride” in a school they “love”.

So school governors and leaders are somewhat frustrated at Ofsted rating the school as “requiring improvement”.

According to Ofsted, those governors and leaders are not “well enough trained and supported” to ensure some school policies, including on safeguarding, are updated to reflect changing legislation and best practice.

The school’s procedures for communicating safeguarding concerns with outside agencies were said to lack “sufficient clarity and rigour”.

As a result, the report says, advice has not been consistently sought from Herefordshire Council’s safeguarding team.

There are also references to “asking more” of more-able pupils, a need for “consistency” in marking and “appropriate” targets  for the development of reception age pupils.

Yet teaching and governorship at St Mary’s are acknowledged by Ofsted as strong with pupils making good to excellent progress and school resources being managed “exceptionally well”.

Leaders, staff, pupils, and parents alike are “passionately committed” to the school’s success.

And pupil behaviour was found to be “outstanding” with excellent attendance demonstrating how much they “love coming to school”.

Chair of Trustees John Gerrish BEM said the school was “disappointed” at an apparent downgrade from an expected “Good” grade due to “some concerns raised by the local authority about out of date training”.

That training – and the relevant policies – had now been refreshed, said Mr Gerrish, but the school won’t get the chance of an upgrade for at least another year.

“We are looking forward to that opportunity, but in the meantime will work on all the other advice we have been given in our drive for outstanding status,” he said.

St Mary’s opened as a free school in 2013.

From 2011 it was by volunteers as an independent school following the formal closure of the village primary school by Herefordshire Council.

The school is administered by an independent charitable trust and is housed in the original village school buildings taking pupils from early years to Year 6.

In September, the school is expected to have 56 pupils having started with 16.