The chief inspector of Ofsted has praised Murrayfield Primary Academy in Ipswich following its ‘fantastic’ turnaround.

%image(15168578, type="article-full", alt="Amanda Spielman, HM chief inspector of schools, said Murrayfield Primary Academy's turnaround was fantastic Picture: SARAH LUCY BROWN")

The school in Nacton Road was selected by the government regulators as the location to reveal their national Annual Report due to its improvements since being rated "inadequate" in 2017.

Now under the leadership of the Paradigm Trust, the academy has gone from strength to strength and was rated "good" in October last year.

Seeing the school for the first time, Her Majesty's chief inspector of schools Amanda Spielman said the improvements made were "fantastic".

Ms Spielman said: "We asked all of our inspectors and Murrayfield floated to the top - having seen it today, I'm not surprised.

%image(15168576, type="article-full", alt="Emelia and Lumen at Murrayfield Primary Academy, which has been recognised by the Ofsted chief inspector after its "good" rating Picture: CHARLOTTE BOND")

"It's really good to see a school like this that has pieces so well put together."

The school had previously been criticised for poor behaviour and inadequate reading standards at Year 6 level, with regulators believing "not enough" children were prepared for high school.

It has since invested heavily in ensuring children have better reading, writing and arithmetic standards - starting by stripping things back to basics.

Ms Spielman added: "I have heard it is a school that has struggled in the past, but I would never know it from what I've seen here today, and that's so impressive.

%image(15168576, type="article-full", alt="Emelia and Lumen at Murrayfield Primary Academy, which has been recognised by the Ofsted chief inspector after its "good" rating Picture: CHARLOTTE BOND")

"It is lovely to see a school that's firing on all cylinders."

Headteacher Neil Winn said the recognition from Ofsted is not only fantastic for the pupils, but also the local community.

Mr Winn added: "The school had been in a position we didn't want it to be in for such a long time, and it's fantastic all the hard work that's been put in has been seen.

"Now the children have a school they should have and they deserve."

In its most recent SATs results, 63% of children achieved the national standard in reading, 80% in mathematics and 87% in writing.

The Ofsted Annual Report found 86% of schools in England are rated "good" or "outstanding" - while research last year found many primary schools nationwide were not focusing enough on science.

But the regulator found Murrayfield was an example to schools in how other subjects can be given the attention they require to help pupils achieve and thrive.