A Workington school is celebrating after achieving an outstanding result at an Ofsted inspection last month.

Ashfield Infant and Nursery School, which has 191 children aged from three to seven, was rated outstanding in all six categories: effectiveness of leadership and management; quality of teaching, learning and assessment; personal development, behaviour and welfare; outcomes for pupils; early years provision and overall effectiveness.

The result, from an assessment carried out by Ofsted on November 6 and 7, mirrors results from an earlier Ofsted inspection in December 2010.

Headteacher Rachel Field, who was appointed in September 2016, said the journey the school had been on over the past two years had been a challenging one, but she was immeasurably proud of her team and the children in their care.

She said: “Ashfield Infant and Nursery School is a special place. We consider ourselves to be a family and we couldn’t achieve all we do without working together. Our families are very supportive and we have a highly committed governing body.

“Everybody at Ashfield makes a huge contribution to nurturing and supporting our children on their incredible journey with us. We are always striving to be the best we can be and to receive this recognition from Ofsted in our 50th year is wonderful.”

The inspectors said that “the provision for the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is excellent….a wide range of learning opportunities help pupils develop into confident and well-rounded learners who thrive”.

The school has become a forest school, with all children taking part in forest sessions each week and a new, exciting curriculum provides the children with an exceptional learning journey. The school now offers 30 hours provision for nursery children, where children make “an outstanding start”, according to the inspection team.

Citizenship is at the heart of the school and the report stressed the exemplary behaviour, respect and caring nature from children and staff in a learning environment where “children care deeply about each other’s happiness.”

Deputy headteacher Pauline Ives told lead Ofsted inspector Simon Hunter that the mission was to “find the strength within each child and then develop it”.

The school has cause for double celebrations as it is also their 50th anniversary year. To mark the year they have held a special 50th birthday tea party, which raised money for Macmillan Cancer Research. There has also been a display of photographs from across the decades, and planned events include a tree planting in Workington, with a tree to be planted for every child in the school, and a 50th anniversary garden party in the summer term.