JUST four years after it was declared one of the lowest performing schools in the country, Bruche Primary School has received a national award for its teaching assistants (TAs).

The Padgate school, which is now in the top 10 per cent of primary schools for pupil attainment, was recognised for the role its TAs play in supporting teachers and pupils.

Assessors from the Best Practice with Teaching Assistants Award (BPTAA) visited the school earlier this year and noted the strong leadership of the school’s BPTAA co-ordinator, Chris Gould, with the support of Bruche’s lead TA, Alicia Dignan-Smith.

Chris Jones, executive head teacher of Bruche Primary, said: "Every day our teaching assistants play a key role in supporting the teachers to ensure that our children get the maximum benefit from teaching and learning at school.

"At Bruche, our teaching assistants and teachers really do complement each other’s work and provide high quality experiences for all of our children.

"We are really proud of our teaching assistants and the impact they make to children's lives.

"Each one is a role model and we are very lucky to have such skilled people, who all know how our children need to develop and learn.

"We wanted to achieve this award in recognition for all of their hard work at Bruche."

The assessors said: "The BPTAA has been a positive framework for change, both as a celebration of existing practice and as a framework to develop this even further.

"This will be sustainable through the continuation of clear systems that are in place to ensure the maximum impact of TAs.

"While the learning and progress of all children is recognised as the overall responsibility of the teacher, the TAs are an integral part of driving teaching and learning throughout the school."

Bruche Primary is part of the Warrington Primary Academy Trust (WPAT), a community of more than 1,900 children aged two to 11 in six primary schools and a teaching school.