A NORTH Yorkshire village primary school has been told it 'requires improvement' by inspectors.

Camblesforth Community Primary Academy has 77 pupils and joined York-based Ebor Academy Trust in 2017 and was given the requires improvement grading by Ofsted at a recent inspection.

Dave Card, head of school, said: “We were not surprised by this judgement as we are aware our school is still on its journey of improvement. We were very encouraged that the report recognises the significant progress being made since the school joined Ebor."

The Ofsted inspectors’ analysis of progress data for previous pupils was the main reason for the judgement. They said the trust has put in place stable teaching arrangements that are designed to better meet pupils’ needs. “These changes have restored parental confidence. Leaders’ actions have placed the school on a secure platform for further improvement,” said the report.

From February 1, Ebor has a new chief executive officer, Gail Brown. She said: “We are committed to supporting Camblesforth and have great faith in Mr Card and the continuing great work that is taking place. It is always important to look at the trajectory a school is on, rather than a snapshot. I know the education improvement journey in Camblesforth is getting better all the time.”

Mr Card said he was encouraged by the level of support given to the school by staff, pupils and parents – and this was noted by the inspector.

He said: “At our last parents’ evening, we were overwhelmed by all the positive feedback. We feel that this is an expression of the confidence our community has in the school.

“The inspection team did recognise the ‘development of our wider curriculum being in its early stage’. Nevertheless, we all want to be graded a ‘good’ school and we will be working extremely hard to achieve this next time. We will be addressing all areas for improvement identified in the report,” said Mr Card. “I would also like to acknowledge the work of governors who have supported us and our community by working tirelessly as critical friends over the last two years.”

As well as Camblesforth, Ebor operates Staynor Hall, Brotherton & Byram and Tadcaster primary schools in its Ebor South hub. Ebor has a current total of 24 schools across York, the East Riding and The Humber and on the Yorkshire Coast.