A Watford primary school is “really pleased” with its ‘good’ Ofsted rating, despite dropping from its previous 'outstanding' grade.

Cassiobury Junior School in Bellmount Wood Avenue received the rating from the schools regulator based on an inspection on January 24 and 25.

The quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, and school leadership were rated ‘good’, while personal development was judged ‘outstanding’, according to the report published yesterday (April 30).

Inspectors said the pupils were happy to attend the “friendly and caring” school, where they had positive relationships with staff and each other. 

The students were said to live up to teachers' high expectations for work and behaviour as the classrooms were quiet and orderly, meaning pupils could work hard and concentrate.

Headteacher Jenny Sherry said: “We are really pleased with our report which recognises our many strengths; the report is packed with positives.”

Cassiobury Junior School has 360 children aged seven to 11 and is a 'maintained' school, meaning it is overseen by Watford Borough Council.

It was the first Ofsted inspection since the school was rated outstanding in 2011.

The latest report flagged many positives, including that it had an “ambitious and well-developed” curriculum which nurtures pupils’ knowledge over time.

Staff were said to be well-trained and showed strong subject knowledge, which meant they could answer pupils’ questions effectively and guide their learning.

The school’s leadership team and governors “are focused on what can make the school even better”, according to the report, and staff are included in decision-making such as changes to subjects.

Inspectors found that children with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) are well supported by “skilled” staff and the school works closely with families.

The latest report only raised one area of improvement, as it said that staff were “not yet fully delivering all the content and pedagogical approaches as leaders intend” in some subjects, which had limited students’ progress.

It added that Cassiobury needed to evaluate the effectiveness of its teaching and assessment to identify where support and training was needed.