College Heath Middle School was praised for the care shown towards pupils' wellbeing, but inconsistencies in their behaviour and in teaching were also highlighted by inspector Mark Phillips.

The inspection of the school, which caters for 338 pupils aged nine to 13, was undertaken on February 27 and 28.

The report's overall judgement was that the school was 'satisfactory', with a good, well-balanced curriculum and a full programme of enrichment courses, such as music lessons.

It acknowledged improvements had been made since the last inspection and credited these to the 'dedication and effective leadership' of headteacher Valerie Axton.

The school's strength is the care it shows towards it pupils, according to the report. It said: "Pupils say they feel safe in school and that there are few racist and bullying incidents.

"The school keeps scrupulous records of any incidents that do occur and deals with them rigorously."

However, the report also highlighted concerns from some parents that pupils did not always behave well around school.

Although it said work to promote good behaviour and attendance was proving successful, improvements were still needed.

The report also called for better standards of teaching, which was deemed satisfactory, but inconsistent.

Inspectors noted that while there were some good examples of active lessons which tested the abilities of all children, there were many which were more talkbased and unchallenging.

Achievement of pupils overall was also classed as satisfactory and the report suggested more attention should be paid to the individual needs of pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities.

March 28, 2008