A SCHOOL near Hereford has said it is incredibly proud of the outcome of its latest Ofsted inspection, despite the challenges it has faced due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Like all sectors, education was hit hard by Covid as classrooms were closed to all, apart from children of key workers.

Learning was moved online and children and teachers were forced to adapt, but that didn't stop Ofsted inspectors still praising the work of Canon Pyon CE Primary Academy, rated as outstanding.

Inspectors said after their visit on March 1 that pupils care and look after one another, with a "buddy stop" initiative in the playground to invite other children to take part in games and conversation, and bullying was rare.

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In their report of the March 1 visit, Jonathan Leonard and Matt Meckin said leaders place great emphasis on promoting pupils’ self-belief and confidence, and there is a sense of pride at the school.

"All in all, we are incredibly proud of our outcome," head of school Kelly Carpenter said.

"The staff and the children have been working so hard, like many schools across the country, despite the pandemic.

"We have a strong Christian ethos and our school very much has a family feel, this is always commented upon by visitors.

"We have gone through many changes over the past few years and the school is always developing and evolving.

"Primarily we endeavour for our children to work together, to have respect for each other, to encourage one another and endeavour to have self-belief as per our Christian ethos.

"Above all we help our children to flourish in a happy and safe environment - above all, our children have fun."

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Ofsted's visit was a section eight inspection, which is different to a full inspection.

These types of visits are carried out once a school is judged to be understanding, inspectors revisit roughly once every four years to confirm that rating is still correct.

But inspectors said "evidence gathered suggests that the inspection grade might not be as high if a full inspection were carried out now".

This means a full inspection will be carried out within the next two years.

But inspectors said to improve, subject leaders' approach to assessing what pupils know and remember is not fully developed, which makes it hard to judge how much progress is being made.

They also said there is some variation in staff expertise, and staff do not always choose learning activities that help pupils learn as well as they might.

Leaders should continue to develop staff subject knowledge so that they become more expert in all the subjects that they teach," they said.

But still praising the school in their report, inspectors said that while there have been recent changes in leadership, they have a clear vision to give pupils an exceptional education and are "especially focussed" on developing the quality of the curriculum.

As for the teachers, inspectors said they make sure children, who behave well, understand what they are being taught, and they can identity pupils who need extra support.

They also support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities well.

Safeguarding was also said to be effective, and members of the small staff team work well together and high morale "impacts positively on pupils' experiences".