Education bosses have dramatically turned things around at a school which was once one of the worst in the country.

Elaine Primary School in Strood was taken over by the Inspire Partnership Academy Trust in 2018 and has now received its first "good" Ofsted rating in more than 15 years.

Head teacher Sarah Martin said: "We are really happy. It is nice to have that recognition of the work we have done.

"The school has been on a journey for a number of years so it is really a testament to the work of staff, our children and our community.

"It means parents finally feel confident they have a local school which is providing their children with a good education and has an ambition for them to have the best life chances."

The school in Elaine Avenue was inspected by Ofsted in late September – the first time since it became an academy – and received a "good" rating in all areas.

Before Inspire Partnership took over, it had historically been judged as "requiring improvement".

The Department for Education (DfE) previously had growing concerns about the performance of the school, which was then run by The Williamson Trust.

It was plagued with a decade of bad results, record exclusions and staff turnover problems.

At one point, only 20% of pupils were meeting the expected standards by the end of Key Stage 2 which led the DfE to threaten it with closure.

In 2020, however, this all changed and it was said to be one of the most improved in the Medway Towns and the new trust was credited for the dramatic turnaround.

The latest Ofsted report has now confirmed its achievement, said deputy head teacher Iman Atwal, who has worked at the school since 2018.

He said: "This school for the past generation or so has only ever been a 'requiring improvement' school and there was a stigma attached to it that this school could not give children a good education.

"We have worked with staff and our community to change that reputation and say we can provide a good education and we do.

"It has been a long ride. We worked with the trust and had experts come in to give guidance to staff. For us having that support has allowed us to change our school.

"This report could not have happened without that. It has not been easy but we have managed to get there by working together.

"We want people to know if you go to Elaine you can achieve. It has been a hard and a long journey but one we are extremely proud of."

Mrs Martin, who joined the school in September, added: "We want to be parents' first-choice school. They want to send their children here and not just because they live close.

"These children deserve the best education and they deserve to have this at a good school and to have that chance."

The milestone Ofsted report said pupils are "happy and feel safe", safeguarding arrangements are effective and "the relationships between pupils and teachers are respectful".

Reading has been made a high priority, teachers have introduced "very ambitious" themes across the curriculum and pupils are introduced to challenging ideas.

Inspectors did say that some aspects of the geography course had not taken into account the learning students had lost during the pandemic.

They suggested leaders refined the curriculum to ensure they have the prior knowledge needed to tackle the challenging concepts.

Despite this, the report said: "The new head teacher and her team already show a shared determination to drive improvements in the school."