Reculver Primary School has been rated Outstanding - five years after it was placed in special measures.

The Oftsed plaudits mark a stunning turnaround for the school, which in 2013 was said to have pupils leaving with “low standards of attainment in writing and mathematics” and weak teaching.

Much of the blame for this was laid at the doors of senior staff members, who were accused of failing to evaluate teachers regularly enough and not knowing the school’s level of performance.

A further inspection in 2014 stated Reculver required improvement, despite making a number of strides.

Jenny Ashley-Jones, who became headteacher in 2015, says the 2013 report was “damning”.

“It was dreadful,” she said. “There was a loyal bunch of staff who I don’t think were being led. They hadn’t received the training needed.

“Children were doing fine – their results were okay – but there wasn’t anything pushing them to reach their absolute potential. There was a legacy we needed to turnaround.”

She said the inspectors in 2014 could see improvements were being made, “but the changes weren’t evident all the way through the school yet”.

But following its latest inspection in July, Ofsted rated the school Outstanding.

The report noted the “headteacher has been steadfast in raising standards”, teachers “have excellent subject knowledge” and the “curriculum inspires pupils to deepen their understanding” of subjects.

“It’s been a relatively short journey to move the school from where it was,” Ms Ashley-Jones said.

“We put in systems, particularly in maths and English, to make sure high standards were started early and built upon every year.

“It’s these systems that have made sure we’re building on successes every year and got to the point where the children are thriving and achieving a high level when they leave.”

These “systems” have helped to encourage children to read more often at home and at school.

“It was about changing the mindset of the school,” Ms Ashley-Jones said.

“Over the last two years we’ve improved rapidly and that was shown in the Ofsted inspection.”

Pupils last year also achieved the school’s highest ever Sats results, with 84% of children gaining the expected standard in reading, writing and maths – 20% above the national average and up on the 65% the previous year.