The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Since being appointed as acting headteacher in September 2017, you have led the school smoothly through a period of staff change. Your inspirational leadership has created a team whose members have an unrelenting acceptance of nothing but the best for all the pupils in their care. You have also sustained a culture of caring and kindness throughout the school. The uniqueness of each child is celebrated and valued. One parent told me, ‘I feel the staff at Cottesmore really do care about my child and her well-being.’ Parents and pupils appreciate the harmonious community you and your team have built. One pupil told me, ‘Everyone is inclusive – it doesn’t matter who you are or what level in work you are.’ Parents spoke of their love of the school, the dedication of teachers and the individual care and attention that their children receive. Pupils at the school feel safe and say that bullying is rare. They appreciate the care shown to them by adults. Older children help younger children across the school and in the playground. Parents appreciate that new arrivals are given a ‘buddy’ to help them settle in quickly. This contributes well to pupils’ sense of belonging to a family within the school. You lost no time in responding to a dip in standards in key stage 1 phonics last year. Further training has increased teaching expertise and pupils are now making more rapid progress. Parents are better placed to help their children following the introduction of workshops to explain how phonics is taught. Regular assessment and monitoring of progress ensure that any child who is falling behind is quickly given additional support to catch up. Progress in mathematics has recently been slower than progress in reading and writing. Together with your senior leaders and governors, you have reacted in a prompt and effective manner to rectify this. Expectations for all pupils in mathematics have now been raised. Tasks are chosen more carefully so that pupils tackle more demanding work. Pupils told me how they love the challenge of mathematics and how their confidence in the subject has grown. As a result, pupils are now making more rapid progress and are well placed to achieve better outcomes this year. Middle leaders were keen to tell me how well you have supported them in their new roles. They feel that they have been guided through every stage and now feel that they have the freedom and your trust to lead. They are increasingly accountable for the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement within their areas of responsibility. You have rightly identified that they are now well placed to play a stronger part in driving improvements. The local authority has recognised your excellent leadership. It appreciates your speed of response to areas for improvement and how well initiatives are maintained until outcomes improve. They acknowledge the growing strength of middle leaders to support and challenge teachers. At the time of the last inspection, inspectors recognised many strengths in the school, including pupils’ behaviour and excellent attitudes to learning. These strengths have been maintained. Behaviour in lessons is exemplary. Pupils are keen to learn and hard working in lessons. They work well together and delight in one another’s achievements. They speak eloquently and confidently about their learning and know what they need to do to improve. At the time of the last inspection, leaders were tasked with improving the curriculum so that it provided maximum opportunities for learning. The school’s whole curriculum now provides rich, planned opportunities that inspire all groups of pupils. Through their experience of art, music, forest school, history and religious education (RE), pupils practise and extend their skills and experience in reading, writing and mathematics. Teachers were also asked to consistently check pupils’ learning throughout lessons so that all make the progress they should. Teachers now make good use of prior assessment of the children to plan tasks which are challenging. In mathematics, pupils move quickly through increasingly demanding levels within a lesson. They persevere through challenge, and teachers are quick to support and guide. As a result, learning is fast paced and progress is good. Your current improvement plans are ambitious for the school. You are determined that attainment for all pupils will rise, particularly in mathematics and phonics. You also want to develop leaders to further support and challenge teachers.