Careful lesson planning and making reading fun are among the elements helping a school to thrive, according to education inspectors.

St Vincent’s Catholic Primary School in Dagenham was judged as “good” in an Ofsted report published just before Christmas.

Headteacher Clare Scott was praised for her work improving the quality of education and establishing a culture which “emphasises pupils’ personal development as well as their academic achievement”.

Inspectors who visited the Burnside Road school in November were also impressed by pupils’ behaviour and how they work hard to do their best.

Suggestions for improvement included better achievement in reading at Key Stage 2 and raising the quality of teaching so that it is consistently good or better.