A PRIMARY school in Newport has been taken out of special measures after inspectors judged it to have made "sufficient progress" in the past three years.

Malpas Church in Wales Primary School was placed in special measures in January 2020 after a stinging report cited “fractured relationships and poor communication between leaders, and between leaders and staff”.

In a new report, Estyn noted the school had undergone a "period of inconsistency in key leadership roles" since then, with the most recent headteacher taking up the post last September.

"Over the past year, the pace of improvement has gathered momentum and staff have worked collaboratively to address the improvement priorities," an Estyn inspection team decided after making a follow-up visit to the school last month.

The inspectors said the school had developed a "clear sense of community and identity, rightly focused on improving the provision and outcomes for pupils" and had forged "strong channels of communication with parents".

"Most staff understand their roles and responsibilities, and their part in bringing about whole school improvements," the inspectors added.

"Staff have continued to work together to improve the learning environment for pupils, both inside and within the school grounds, and the quality of the provision.

"These improvements have created a shared sense of purpose and ownership."

School leaders have created "straightforward, concise guidance" for teachers which "spell out the expectations for staff".

"Leaders and staff share their expertise with their colleagues and are beginning to reflect together on effective practices and make changes to their approach to better match pupils’ needs," the Estyn team said. "As a consequence of this improvement work, most teaching is now of a high quality, and the instances of weaker practice are few and far between."

They added: "Teachers now plan more appropriate and better focused activities to help pupils develop as independent learners."

School leaders were also praised for improving their professional learning opportunities.

"The quality of classroom practice has improved, and leaders are acutely aware of where practice is strongest and areas that still require improvement," the inspectors said. "They hold staff to account robustly in the few instances where their work falls short of expectations."

The school has also improved the role of its governing body since the last full inspection in 2019.

"The governing body has established a clear committee structure and membership of committees draw upon the skills, knowledge and experience each governor brings to the role," the Estyn team said. "These committees meet regularly and discuss important aspects of the school’s work, for example they review the need for the school to play a greater role in its community and to strengthen links with the church."