The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You have brought clear vision and direction since becoming the executive headteacher in September 2017. You provide strong leadership in a way that secures the full support of everybody at the school. In just a short period of time, you have created an ethos in the school based on high expectations, mutual support and shared responsibility. Staff are fully supportive of your actions to improve teaching and learning and share your determination to provide a first-class education for all pupils in the school. There is a positive feel around the school and staff morale is high. Governors know their school well and provide effective support and challenge. They support you fully in your drive to improve learning experiences for pupils. Governors know the strengths of the school and work well with school leaders to drive improvements. You have an accurate and in-depth understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement. Since your appointment, you have introduced systems and procedures that are improving the quality of teaching in the school and thereby the standards that pupils are currently achieving. Teachers now carefully monitor the progress pupils make and provide additional support for those pupils who are not making the progress of which they are capable. Pupils receive immediate and personal feedback on how well they are achieving in their work, and are given opportunities to further improve their work during lessons. You have also ensured that teachers receive good professional development opportunities to improve their practice. As a result of your actions, pupils currently in the school are attaining higher standards and making good progress in reading, writing and mathematics. However, you are not complacent and recognise that these actions to improve teaching and learning are still in their early stages and need to be firmly embedded, if you are to maintain, and increase further, the good progress pupils are currently making. At the time of the previous inspection, you were asked to improve teaching by providing opportunities for teachers to share best practice. This you have achieved successfully. You have developed strong partnerships with other schools, and teachers regularly meet to share best practice and have constructive dialogues on improving teaching and learning. Following your previous inspection, you were also asked to provide opportunities for pupils to work independently as well as collaboratively in lessons. Observations of learning during the inspection and evidence from leaders’ own monitoring show that this is done effectively. You were also asked to ensure that pupils achieve well in all year groups especially in mathematics. You and your leader for mathematics have carefully analysed what pupils need to learn to achieve well and have implemented changes to address this. As a result, pupils across the school are currently making good progress in mathematics. Safeguarding is effective. Leaders have ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and records are detailed and of high quality. You have ensured that all staff are appropriately trained and they receive regular updates and briefings. Consequently, staff understand what to do should a safeguarding issue or concern arise. Your procedures for recruiting, vetting and checking staff are thorough. Although your work with other agencies to protect pupils is only needed infrequently, when it is required it is appropriate and professional. The school is a caring and safe environment where pupils feel safe. Parents and carers that replied to Parent View, Ofsted’s questionnaire, reported that their children are safe at the school and are well looked after. Inspection findings Firstly, I wanted to check what actions school leaders have taken to improve standards in writing, especially for pupils who are most able. Writing has a high profile around the school. Examples of pupils’ work are celebrated and prominently displayed in classrooms and corridors. High expectations of pupils and teachers are having a positive impact on standards, especially the higher standard. Pupils’ work in different subjects is high quality and beautifully presented. I also focused on how effectively pupils from average starting points in mathematics are being supported, so that a greater proportion attain the expected standard for their age. Your leader for mathematics leads the subject very effectively and has used her extensive professional development opportunities to improve provision in all year groups. Evidence in pupils’ books shows that this is having a rapidly improving impact on standards for all groups of pupils. Reading is a strength of the school, and outcomes at key stage 1 and key stage 2 have been consistently above average for several years. Reading is taught very effectively and provides pupils with the necessary skills to read and understand a range of texts. Pupils who read to me were confident and fluent. They commented on how much they enjoy reading and that they regularly read to an adult in school and at home. Older pupils were very keen to show me the library and how their role as librarians ensures that pupils have equal access to a range of books during lunchtime. Pupils’ attitudes to learning and their behaviour around the school are excellent. They are polite and courteous to each other and adults. They clearly take a pride in their work. Evidence in pupils’ books shows care and attention and reflects the high expectations that underpin learning in the school. Although you have introduced several changes in a relatively short period of time, your leadership style has secured the support of everybody at the school. Teachers said how much their confidence has grown. They enjoy the freedom to have professional discussions with each other and with teachers in other schools. Teachers unanimously agree that the school is now more outward looking, and their willingness to embrace change to improve further is clearly evident. The significant improvements in the quality of teaching, as a result of your actions, are undoubtedly noticeable in the quality of work that pupils are currently producing. However, most of these changes have been implemented since your appointment and therefore need to be firmly embedded if you are to achieve the outcomes that you and your staff are aiming for. Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that: recently introduced strategies to improve standards in writing and mathematics are firmly embedded. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for East Riding of Yorkshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website. Yours sincerely Alan Chaffey Ofsted Inspector Information about the inspection During the inspection, I held meetings with you and teachers from each class. I also met with five members of the governing body and a local authority representative. I spoke with pupils informally during the morning break and when listening to pupils read. I made short visits to every classroom with you and looked at pupils’ books with your teachers. I scrutinised various documents, including the school’s selfevaluation, improvement plans and safeguarding documents. I considered the 14 responses to Ofsted’s online staff survey, the 22 responses to Parent View, and 21 free-text responses to Parent View.