The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You provide calm, stable leadership and you ensure that decisions are taken which promote the best interests of every pupil. This is a school whose values are consciously rooted in its Christian ethos. You make sure that staff, pupils and families are well supported and treated with kindness and respect. Staff enjoy working at this school and pupils, parents and carers feel pleased and proud to be members of this school community. Parents, carers and grandparents I spoke to informally at the start of the day were extremely pleased with the school. Typical comments included ‘My child loves coming to this school’ and ‘The staff are so approachable and there is a really warm, welcoming and inclusive atmosphere.’ These views were endorsed by the overwhelming majority of the 102 parents who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, and by the very large majority of parents who texted about their perceptions of the school. Pupils behave extremely well in lessons and around school. They are polite and courteous to each other, as well as to staff and visitors. Since the previous inspection, you have improved the leadership of the early years, and introduced new approaches which give pupils more confidence and stamina in their writing. You have strengthened the quality of feedback teachers provide to pupils. You have ensured that subject leaders are more influential, playing a stronger role in monitoring pupils’ progress and training staff. You have made good use of the support you have received from Herts for Learning, and this has improved the quality of professional development and training that have been provided to staff, especially in the Nursery and Reception classes. Your decision, supported by the governors, to invest in improvements to the library, including purchasing lots of new books, has helped establish a strong culture of reading. Governors’ decisions are based on accurate information about the school’s key priorities. They visit the school regularly, and they have a secure understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement. Governors offer a good level of both support and professional challenge to school leaders. Governors recognise and appreciate the dedication and commitment shown by leaders, and the hard work and enthusiasm of all members of staff. They rightly have great confidence in you, appreciating the pivotal role you continue to play in creating a happy, friendly and successful school. Safeguarding is effective. Leaders have ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose, and records of staff’s suitability to work with children are clear and well organised. Staff understand their role in keeping pupils safe at school. There are well-understood systems in place for staff to report any concerns, and the designated safeguarding leaders liaise appropriately with other agencies. The pupils I spoke to informally around the school told me that they feel safe and happy at school. Parents’ views were also positive. The vast majority agreed that pupils are safe and well cared for at school, with many choosing to express how secure and assured their children feel. Inspection findings To ascertain whether the school remained good, one of my key lines of enquiry was about the steps leaders and managers have taken to improve the school since the previous inspection. You have improved teaching and leadership in the early years and, as a result, children settle quickly into the Nursery and Reception classes, and make good progress from their different starting points. The acting early years leader has an accurate understanding of the strengths of the provision, and a clear plan to improve children’s learning and development. You have also taken steps to improve subject leadership, and teachers make a strong contribution to school improvement by helping to train and support colleagues, and by monitoring the quality of pupils’ work in different subjects. You have worked hard to secure high standards in pupils’ reading. Reading is taught well, and teachers have good subject knowledge, making reading lessons interesting and challenging. As a result, pupils make excellent progress, often performing well above average in national tests at the end of key stage 2.