A Whitehaven primary school has been deemed good by Ofsted after it previously required improvement.

St James’ Junior School achieved “good” gradings across all of the inspection areas, such as leadership, teaching, pupils’ personal development and outcomes.

Inspectors said the leaders and governors have successfully addressed the key issues identified at the last inspection in 2014. They stated: “The quality of teaching is now good. Teachers plan purposeful lessons so that pupils learn well.... and the governing body now provides effective support in moving the school forward.”

The report said the headteacher and governing board’s “raft of changes’’ following the last report have brought improvements, with the quality of teaching, learning and assessment improving across the school. Performance management processes are “rigorous and robust’’ and the curriculum is “broad and balanced’’.

Inspectors also stated that pupils were well-prepared for secondary school with “the overwhelming majority attaining standards in reading, writing and maths that are above the national average’’.

Pupils who have special educational needs or disabilities are “well-supported’’.

However, the report said teachers do not “make timely enough decisions about pupils’ readiness to progress to the next stage or provide pupils with enough opportunities to think hard and reason for themselves’’. Inspectors said the school now needs to “accelerate progress in mathematics for all pupils ... and help pupils understand the writing process and apply their skills effectively’’.

Moira Maughan, headteacher, said: “I am delighted that the hard work of the staff, governors and pupils has been recognised by Ofsted.

“Everyone at St James’ works hard, not only to ensure that pupils get the best possible education but also to ensure that the drive to improve attainment in English and maths, is not at the expense of the creative curriculum and sport. I am extremely proud of the school community.’’