A headteacher has said the determination and hard work of his staff has resulted in a Watford primary school receiving an "outstanding" for the third consecutive time.

Peter McEntee’s comments come after an Ofsted report rated Chater Junior School as "outstanding" for the third time in a row.

Ofsted inspectors visited the Addiscombe Road school, which teaches seven to 11-year-olds, on June 20 and 21.

The school was awarded "outstanding" marks in all four categories, which include the achievement of pupils, the quality of teaching, the behaviour and safety of pupils and leadership and management.

Mr McEntee, who has been headteacher at the school since 2004, said he was very proud of the whole school community for this achievement, especially considering the increased monitoring standards Ofsted has implemented.

He said: "This is the third time we have achieved an outstanding in an Ofsted.

"I am very proud of the whole school community, because the bar has been raised yet again in terms of the framework Ofsted has introduced.

"Everyone involved in this school deserves to be recognised and I’m particularly proud of this achievement.

"Well done to everyone for their hard work and dedication, we have got outstanding grading in every category."

Inspectors visited 12 lessons, observing eight teachers, with joint observations conducted with the headteacher.

There are 241 pupils at the school, and the Ofsted report highlighted that the behaviour of the children in and around the school was "exemplary".

Furthermore, it was noted that pupils who speak English as an additional language, disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make exceptional progress, primarily due to the stimulating and fun activities devised by the teachers and teaching assistants.

Mr McEntee said: "I am particularly proud of the value we add to the children in terms of their progress from when they arrive at the school, as many are broadly of average ability when they come to us."

Inspectors noted that further improvement could made if the school continued to narrow the gap between English and mathematics across the school by sharing and modelling the best practice in teaching and learning across the school, including in the way that work is marked.

Speaking of where the school goes from here, Mr McEntee said: "The important thing to do now it to make sure the quality of teaching and planning is sustained and developed even further.

"Ofsted are looking for higher standards in schools now and we’ve got to keep working on being open minded to new ideas and processes, and that’ll involve a lot of effort and dedication."