A RURAL primary school that "fosters inclusion" has been highly praised following an inspection.
Newton Tony CofE Primary School has received Judgement One after it was visited for a Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools (SIAMS) on October 2.
This is the highest grade achievable and suggests that, through the school's vision and practice, it is living up to its foundation as a Church school and is enabling pupils and adults to flourish.
Inspector Virginia Corbyn said the support for all pupils is "exceptional" which is shown through "love, care and nurture".
The school's vision is to create a safe, welcoming and nurturing school that offers a sense of belonging by putting the needs of the child at the heart of everything it does.
One parent told inspectors that "nothing is too much trouble" for the people in the school and there is outstanding and ongoing support following bereavement.
Ms Corbyn said: "Pupils show their love and care to each other throughout the day. It is difficult to tell which class pupils are in because they socialise so well across all age groups.
"They know that things go wrong sometimes but understand how to reflect, forgive and move on."
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A group of Year 5 and 6 pupils called 'Worship Warriors' are closely involved in planning and leading worship at the school.
While not all pupils have a religious faith, collective worship is a time for everyone to reflect on personal attitudes and behaviour through discussion and reflection.
School leaders prioritise staff's mental health and wellbeing so that they can "flourish and grow". Ms Corbyn said this results in teachers providing excellent and loving role models to pupils.
Ms Corbyn advised the school to fully embed its Christian vision of 'love one another as I have loved you' and ensure its biblical roots are clearly related to all the school offers and does.
"This is to increase the confidence of the whole school community in expressing its Christian," she said.
Other areas of development included maximising planned opportunities to extend the impact of the school's approach to spiritual development and the role of 'Worship Warriors' should be extended to develop people to flourish spiritually.
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Headteacher Sheena Priestley said: "Our school is a safe, welcoming and nurturing school that offers a sense of belonging.
"We are situated in a small, rural village and we pride ourselves that we know each and every child.
"Our strength lies in putting the needs of the child at the heart of everything we do."
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