‘Rapid improvements’ have led to Westlands Primary School dramatically improving its Ofsted rating.

The last time it was inspected in December 2013, the school was given a grading of four – meaning it was found to be inadequate.

But after the site in Homewood Avenue, Sittingbourne, was revisited on May 20 and 21 this year, its grade has jumped up two levels to ‘good’.

The report says this is due to “determined ambitious leaders who have brought out the best in staff and pupils”.

Teaching is said to be consistently good and the children are making good progress in all subjects.

Standards in reading have also risen at a rapid rate in the past year because weaknesses in pupils’ skills have been tackled through a range of successful initiatives

In fact, three of the areas assessed were found to be outstanding. They are: leadership and management; the behaviour and safety of pupils; and early-years provision.

The quality of teaching and achievement of pupils were both found to be good.

Head teacher Louise Hopkins said: “This report is a recognition of the unfailing dedication of the staff here.

“We have been on an amazing journey together over the last 18 months since our previous inspection, and everyone at the school has worked so hard to improve outcomes for our pupils.

“Ofsted recognises the magnificent achievement that we have accomplished with this judgement of a good school with outstanding features.

“We are so thankful to our parents and carers for all their support and believing that we could make a difference.

“Being part of Swale Academies Trust has enabled us to develop a close relationship with our ‘sister’ school, Regis Manor, with whom we have shared good practice and professional support.

“The trust has supported and worked alongside us as like-minded professionals who share the vision of excellent education for all.”

It is not yet outstanding because the quality of teachers’ marking and feedback to pupils is variable between classes and year groups, pupils occasionally make calculations in mathematics without fully understanding the concepts behind them, and on occasions children do not correct errors or follow teacher’s ‘next steps’ advice in their workbooks – meaning mistakes are repeated in future work.

The number of pupils, aged between four and 11, on the school roll is 498.