A primary school has been hailed by Ofsted for having “love, trust and forgiveness” underpin its ethos, as the school continues to reverse a “decline in standards”.

Bitterne Church of England Primary School on Brownlow Avenue was inspected in February, where a report said that the school has introduced a new and ambitious curriculum.

The school – which has 409 students on roll – has “made progress in tackling the areas that require improvement” after “published outcomes in 2024 were significantly below the national average”.

Inspectors found that "love, trust, and forgiveness" underpin the school's ethos, with pupils being "happy and kind to each other."

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Ofsted said that pupils learn to be “responsible, respectful and safe”, praising that they learn how to look after their physical and mental health while making good friends and staying safe online.

However, the report highlighted that some pupils do not achieve well due to "gaps in their learning, especially in English and mathematics”.

Inspectors said that some children in the early years do not secure the basic literacy and numeracy skills they need to do well in key stage one.

The school was praised for making progress in “tackling the areas that require improvement” though, as new leadership has set a strategic plan to rapidly improve the quality of education.

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Inspectors did however note that “some key priorities have not been achieved”.

The report also highlighted inconsistencies in the teaching of the curriculum, with some staff “not skilled enough in setting work for pupils that will raise their achievement and address previous shortfalls”.

The school has recently introduced a new phonics programme to lift standards, but Ofsted said “not all staff are clear enough about how to teach reading fluency and the building blocks of writing”.

The school has been advised to ensure that all staff continue to receive training to teach the phonics programme so that pupils appropriately learn to read and write.

Ofsted no longer gives school a headline grade after an inspection, but it did note that the behaviour and attitudes of pupils at the school was “good”.