A SMALL South Lakeland primary school has been told it is top of the class for its teaching of mathematics.

Provision at Heversham St Peter’s CE School has been judged so ‘outstanding’ that others should try to emulate it, education chiefs said.

In a major new report by Ofsted emphasising the importance of children having the best possible maths education, the primary is recommended as an example of best practice.

The school’s coup is in contrast to many of the Mathematics: Made To Measure report’s findings, which highlighted the need for improvements in some primaries and that not enough is being done to help struggling pupils.

Hazel Blakeley, head teacher at Heversham St Peter’s CE School, said the recognition was a ‘fantastic’ boost for the staff’s hard work.

“We have a can-do philosophy and the children are very confident in their maths learning,” said Mrs Blakeley.

“It’s something that runs throughout school and it’s a pride shared by children, parents and staff.

“The staff put a lot of energy and commitment into their delivery of maths and all subjects and engender a real enjoyment of maths.”

The report found that the youngest children performed better in the subject.

Mrs Blakeley said maths lessons were taught in a ‘meaningful’ way to help children appreciate the subject’s value in life.

Teachers plan lessons together and observe one another’s work, with measures to spot struggling pupils.

She explained: “The teachers make it ‘real’ for the children, relating it to, for example, tarmacing the playground, or carpeting the classroom, so they see how it’s really useful for their life skills.

“We make great efforts to instill in children that maths is interesting and a life skill they need.”

Mrs Blakeley praised the work of subject leader Lynne Jopling for helping cement the school’s impressive results. And she said this strong teaching was echoed in every class.

“You don’t get the results we do if it’s not consistent throughout school and I think that’s what Ofsted has recognised,” she said.

“We always ensure children have a positive attitude and high self-esteem.”

An Ofsted spokesman said Heversham St Peter’s was one of 20 schools showing ‘excellent work’ which was highlighted in the report.

He added: “These schools were effective in building pupils’ secure knowledge, skills and understanding of number so that they demonstrated fluency in calculating, solving problems and reasoning about number.”

Ofsted will film the school later this month as part of a project to document those achieving good practice.