The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You have successfully managed a period of considerable change in staffing and governance over the last few years and have developed a team that is committed to collectively taking responsibility for improving pupils’ outcomes. Staff are taking greater ownership of their professional development and are motivated to support school improvement in their areas of responsibility, many of which are new to them. You are passionate about providing pupils with a wide range of opportunities to support their development as confident individuals who develop interests and enjoy learning. The rich and diverse curriculum is responsive to current events and successfully aims to include something to interest everybody. Extra-curricular activities such as theatre skills, percussion, gardening, cookery and sports, enrich pupils’ experiences further. You have also ensured that there is a calm and purposeful learning environment where pupils’ achievements are celebrated and they are inspired to make a positive contribution. Pupils respond admirably and are polite and well-mannered. They thoroughly embrace the opportunity to take on board responsibilities in school. For example, some pupils run their own clubs, such as chess and colouring club, for others to attend. Pupils’ enjoyment and interest in their learning contribute strongly to the pride they take in their school and their consistently high attendance. At the last inspection, you were tasked with improving the quality of teaching and learning. Despite a period of staffing changes, you have secured good and improving teaching. Consequently, outcomes are improving in almost every subject and key stage. The proportion of pupils reaching a good level of development by the end of the early years has been consistently above the national average and is improving. Attainment in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 1 has been at least in line with or better than the national average in 2016 and 2017. Likewise, by the end of key stage 2, progress and attainment have also been positive in reading and mathematics. However, you are acutely aware that pupils’ progress in writing by the end of key stage 2 in 2017 was below average. This resulted in attainment which was also below the national average. Writing was identified as an area for development at the last inspection and, while there have been some improvements in pupils’ outcomes, you acknowledge that there is more to do to ensure consistently strong progress for pupils. Safeguarding is effective. You have created a vigilant culture of safeguarding throughout the school. You have ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and records are detailed and of high quality. Staff are well trained and knowledgeable about how to keep pupils safe. They are effective in recognising and responding to signs of concern. Pupils said that they feel very safe in school and that staff look after them well. They trust that staff will deal with any issues of poor behaviour, firmly and fairly, through the behaviour system. Records show that leaders and teachers respond with urgency to the very rare incidents of poor behaviour and bullying. The curriculum effectively develops pupils’ understanding of potential dangers such as crossing roads, bullying and using the internet. As a result, pupils know how to keep themselves and others safe. Inspection findings Governors, many of whom are new to their roles, are keen and committed to making sure that they have the range of necessary skills to carry out their roles as effectively as possible. They have an accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for development through their visits to school and reports from the headteacher and local authority. They also hear from teachers at regular standards meetings about the progress pupils are making throughout the school. Governors are committed to the training and development of new staff and leaders so that the quality of teaching and learning continues to improve. Additionally, governors have instigated the school’s conversion to become an academy to secure a greater capacity for further improvement. Leaders have accurately prioritised areas for improvement in the school’s development plan. However, you are keen to sharpen the success criteria so they are more precise and measurable and related to pupils’ outcomes when possible. You recognise that this will increase accountability and support leaders in checking the effect of improvement actions. You have been keen to develop new staff and leaders. A wide range of staff have made effective use of the links with the local cluster of schools, local authority training and a curriculum innovation group to support the continual development of teaching and learning. A particular success has been the development of teaching assistants who are now carrying out more varied roles and making a greater contribution to improving pupils’ outcomes. As a result of the feedback staff receive and their training and development, staff feel well supported and valued. Phonics teaching has been an area of development in recent years as the proportion of pupils who met the standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check had been below the national average. Staff recognise the improvement in their subject knowledge and subsequent teaching of phonics as a result of training they have received. More regular assessment and incisive analysis by the subject leader also make sure that work is well matched to pupils’ needs and supports them in making much faster progress. Consequently, all pupils met the standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check in 2017. Reading was identified as a strength at the school’s previous inspection and it continues to be so. You make sure that all staff have high expectations of pupils’ reading and prioritise dedicated time to reading each day. Pupils are encouraged to read regularly at home. High-quality class texts and reading competitions maintain the high profile of reading throughout school. Pupils who need to catch up with their reading are listened to on a more regular basis, and volunteers provide additional capacity for hearing pupils read. Pupils develop a love of reading and, consequently, the school’s assessment information shows that current pupils are making good progress in all year groups. The proportion of pupils reaching and exceeding the expected standard at the end of key stages 1 and 2 in 2017 was well above the national average. Pupils’ outcomes in writing have historically not been as strong as in reading and mathematics. Writing attainment at key stage 1 in 2017 was in line with the national average at the expected standard, and above it for pupils reaching a greater depth of understanding. However, by the end of key stage 2 in 2017, attainment and progress in writing were below the national average. Leaders have prioritised the development of pupils’ writing and are seeing some improvements. You are aware, however, of the need to increase the proportion of pupils who reach and exceed the expected standard, particularly by the end of key stage 2. Training, moderation and sharing of good practice have supported the development of teachers’ subject knowledge, awareness of curriculum expectations and accuracy of assessment. Pupils are now demonstrating greater writing stamina and motivation to write. However, you acknowledge that evidence from lessons and work in pupils’ books confirm that there are some missed opportunities by teachers to pick up on mistakes made during lessons. At times, this results in pupils repeatedly making the same errors and not moving on with their learning quickly enough.