A village primary school is set to welcome a new leadership team after its rating dropped from ‘Good’ to ‘Requires Improvement’ overall.

Ofsted have downgraded Rusthall St Paul's CE Primary School following its most recent inspection.

The non-selective, voluntary aided primary near Tunbridge Wells was previously rated ‘Good’ in all areas in report published in June 2016.

A further review took place during January 2020, where the officer said it continued “to be a good school”, however they had concerns that “standards may be declining”.

Published last week (June 15), the latest report awarded it ‘Good’ in categories: behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management.

However, the quality of education and early years provision were both marked as ‘Requires improvement’.

Despite this, inspectors said that new leaders have “worked hard to increase expectations” and are “making rapid and significant improvements to the school’s curriculum”.

They added: “However, this is still a work in progress, especially in the foundation subjects.”

The school was praised for encouraging pupils, with all years having a warm and trusting relationship with staff.

Teachers are making sure to plan opportunities for students to revisit their learning and are asking questions effectively to identify gaps in their knowledge, the report noted.

It said: “Most teachers change their plans to address these, although this has not always happened swiftly enough in the past.

“Therefore, pupils’ knowledge in all subjects is not consistently secure.

‘...we have solid plans in place to ensure our school progresses towards being outstanding.’

“In the early years, leaders know that there are more significant gaps in children’s learning, and leaders are making rapid progress to close these.”

The inspecting officer went on to say that staff received “in-depth training to deliver the new phonics programme well”, however they sometimes moved on “too quickly”.

“A number of pupils have fallen behind in their phonics learning,” they commented.

“However, they are now receiving the support that they need to help them to catch up.”

Acting Executive Headteacher John Tutt said: “Overall, the Ofsted visit was a positive experience and our pupils, staff and parent community were incredibly supportive in showcasing our school.

“While we are, of course, disappointed in the overall ‘Requires improvement’ grading, we have solid plans in place to ensure we progress towards being outstanding.

“Good practice was recognised in the report and this should be celebrated.

“I want to thank our pupils, parents/carers, staff and our interim executive board for their continuous hard work and steadfast dedication to our school during what have been challenging times over the last few months.

“We have strong team in place and we are looking forward to welcoming new staff in September, including a new head of school and executive headteacher who are excited about the journey ahead.”