A PRIMARY school in Rochford which provides a “happy, caring and welcoming place” for pupils is celebrating after being rated “good” in its first inspection in six years.

Holt Farm Junior School, in Ashingdon Road, was visited by Ofsted inspectors on February 27 and 28, and has retained its overall “good” rating.

Inspectors praised the “positive” relationships between staff and pupils at the junior school, which is part of the South East Essex Academy Trust.

It was the first time the school had been rated since 2018.

In the report, seen by the Echo, it stated: “Holt Farm Junior School provides a happy, caring, and welcoming place for pupils. Pupils meet the high expectations set for them.

“The school is calm and orderly. Pupils get along well together. Relationships between staff and pupils are positive.

“Pupils are polite and well-mannered. Pupils say that staff are fair when dealing with any behaviour issues.

“Pupils are confident that staff will deal with any problems if they occur. This contributes towards pupils feeling safe in school.”

At the time of the inspection, there were 297 pupils at the school, all aged between seven and 11.

Claire Richardson, headteacher of Holt Farm Junior School, said: “This is a pleasing and fair report of the school on its journey to even greater heights and our school community is extremely proud of the feedback provided by Ofsted.

“The whole process was positive, and we found it a great way to celebrate the fantastic learning opportunities that take place at Holt Farm Junior.”

Andrew Cooper, chief executive of the South East Essex Academy Trust, added: “We are delighted with this report which is a good reflection of Holt Farm Junior School lovely pupils, supportive parents, and a great staff team.

“The school has gone from strength to strength since Mrs Richardson became headteacher and I know it will continue to do so.”

Despite the praise, inspectors did highlight on area the school can improve in.

The report stated: “Some areas of the curriculum are not as well developed as others. Staff are still developing their subject knowledge in the leaders’ intended curriculum.

“This means some pupils develop gaps in their knowledge.

“The school should provide staff with the support they need to deliver effective teaching approaches so that pupils have the same depth of knowledge across all areas of the curriculum.”