A SOUTHAMPTON school has retained its ‘good’ Ofsted rating.

Bitterne CE Junior School was judged to be ‘good’ in 2015, and inspectors have found that this is still the case.

The report states that the Brownlow Avenue school has created a “friendly and inclusive atmosphere based on the school’s values”.

It also found that the school’s safeguarding was effective, with pupil’s stating that bullying happened occasionally, but staff were quick to sort it out.

Headteacher Andy Peterson said: “I am delighted that the hard work and dedication of all the staff, governors and children is reflected in our recent Ofsted report.

“I am extremely proud to be the headteacher of Bitterne CE Primary School and leading such an amazing and talented team, who always put children first. It is lovely that the inspector commented that our core Christian values of ‘love, trust and forgiveness’, underpin everything that we do in school. This helps us to ensure that every child is happy, safe and learning well at Bitterne CE Primary.

“The support that the school has from our parents is also something that should be celebrated.

“There were a huge number of parents who completed the Ofsted parent view survey online and the results were very positive. The children’s confidence when speaking to the inspector about their work and the school was a joy to see. We now continue to work relentlessly on the next steps identified in the report in order to make our school an even more successful place for children to learn and thrive.”

To take the school to the next step, the inspector stated that “disadvantaged pupils should continue to make strong progress to reduce the difference between themselves and other pupils nationally”. It also stated that pupils should continue to make progress in writing so that a larger proportion can achieve the higher standard at key stage two.