A 'happy and welcoming' Ludlow primary school has been rated Good in its recent Ofsted report.

St Laurence's CofE primary school, would, the inspection revealed, be recommended to others by almost all parents and carers of children at the school.

They say it is like a ‘big family’ with ‘different people who listen to each other’.

The school, the report continues, "encourages all pupils to be trustworthy, hardworking and creative."

These high expectations of staff "help all pupils to learn and develop well".

The school’s curriculum is broad and ambitious, including for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). It covers the national curriculum and includes plenty of enrichment activities.

Children in the early years settle quickly, with staff paying particular attention to their speech and language development.

Pupils benefit from focused and specialist teaching of reading, which is organised carefully, and any pupils who find reading difficult receive immediate help.

The school uses specialist staff to cater for pupils’ specific difficulties, including their social, emotional and mental health needs. Leaders check regularly on the impact of specific support provided for pupils.

Popular clubs include ‘Stompers’ (the school orchestra), chess and cooking. All pupils learn to reflect on their place in the world, including though regular ‘philosophy’ sessions in weekly circle time.

Leaders, including governors, have a clear and ambitious vision for the school, which is shared by the wider school community.

The two areas highlighted in the report as needing improvement were the physical environment in the Nursery where the age of some of the equipment was observed to limit its use as an effective tool for learning. Inspectors also observed that in some foundation subjects delivery of the curriculum was not monitored closely enough.

"We are very pleased with the recent Ofsted report, which accurately reflects St Laurence's as an inclusive, caring school with an ambitious and well designed curriculum and strong teaching and leadership," said head teacher Stephen Matthews.

"A school where children are happy and enjoy a good quality of education, which is well thought of in the community and all staff are proud to work at."