In their last visit before the struggling school was reopened as the Manchester Academy, inspectors catalogued a series of shortcomings, including poor planning, poor teaching and poor control by staff.
But after their first informal visit to the academy, they have pointed to a much-improved picture of the school, where standards of teaching and behaviour have risen, the number of fixed-term exclusions has been slashed and the number of youngsters arriving late has been dramatically reduced.
Principal Kathy August accepts that the school, in Denmark Road, still has a long way to go.
But she is pleased the steps they have taken have been recognised so quickly.
"This has confirmed our judgments about what needed to be done," she said.
"We have been very honest with the children and we have said a lot of things still aren't good enough.
"We are working to get it as good as we can as quickly as we can. There is such a huge amount to do."
When the academy first opened, 160 youngsters - almost one in four - arrived late every morning.
But patrols at the gates by senior staff, strict signing in and lunchtime detentions have seen that figure fall to 30. And so far this year the number of days lost through fixed-term exclusions has fallen massively.
During their two-day visit to the school - which was not a formal Ofsted inspection - officials looked at 13 lessons and held a series of informal meetings with staff.
Despite finding that pupils' attainment was well below average, they found their attitudes and behaviour to be satisfactory and noted that they spoke with pride about the academy's growing reputation.
Good relationships and high expectations are said to have combined to produce a hard-working ethos.
And in the classrooms, they found teaching was improving, with six lessons classed as good, one as very good and a further four as satisfactory.
And Ms August says there is evidence of the school's improvements around the corridors and in the dining hall as well as in the formal environment of the classroom.
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I have been looking on the internet for the phone number for The Academy in Moss Side in order to tell them about one of their pupils. My friend and I were walking to my car in the pooring rain today and a very pleasant young man offered to share his umbrella with my us. I wanted to let the school know because so often we only hear negatives about the 'younger generation'. The young man had been to the afterschool club and said he had been playing football. Thanks again to the young gentleman.