The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Groups of parents, pupils and governors spoken to during the inspection recognise the improvements that you, your leadership team and staff have made to the school. Your self-evaluation judges the school accurately to be good. Governors and the local authority adviser confirm that the school has continued to improve under your committed and determined leadership. The school now has a vast range of strengths. This includes strengths in relation to pupils’ behaviour and welfare. You, along with your leadership team and governors, aim to nurture faith and inspire success for all pupils at Cuerden Church School. As a result, there is a welcoming and warm feel to the school, with strong relationships between staff and pupils. There is a real ‘family’ ethos. Leaders are determined to provide the highest quality education and, through their knowledge of each pupil, recognise when further support is required to ensure that pupils achieve well. The learning environment is purposeful, calm and respectful. Pupils’ behaviour is good and they are polite and well mannered. Parents feel that the school is really adept at both the nurturing and academic aspects of education. Parents say that it provides ‘everything you want from a school – a strong church school community’. Parents are also delighted with the support offered to pupils transferring from pre-schools into the Reception class and from other schools during the school year. A number of parents stated that the school is ‘exceptional’, and one added that ‘just when I think it can’t get any better, it does!’ Since the last inspection, your leadership team has reviewed your assessment procedures. You now use a comprehensive system that has been developed and shared with all staff. Leaders use the information recorded in this purposeful assessment system to identify individual pupils’ learning needs and secure stronger progress. Based on the assessment information that they have about their pupils, teachers devise appropriate learning activities swiftly and effectively to address misconceptions and meet the needs of their pupils. Consequently, no child is allowed to fall behind. As a result, current pupils are on track to improve on last year’s endof-key-stage results. An increase is expected in the proportion of pupils attaining the higher standards by the end of key stage 2. In early years, leaders also expect the number of children achieving age-related expectations to increase. Pupils stated that they enjoy the fun way that teachers plan lessons. Parents and pupils value the range and variety of extra-curricular activities. These include residential visits, trips and various sports and music clubs. Governors are sensitive to the needs of the local community and the backgrounds of families. They are determined to offer the best education possible to the school’s pupils. The governing body’s strategic role is now informed by an improved understanding of pupil attainment and progress data. They have improved the early years outdoor provision and increased staffing ratios in key stage 1 classes. Both of these decisions have had a positive effect on improving provision and pupil outcomes. You and your team have taken effective action to address the areas for improvement since the last inspection. Leaders provide a wide range of experiences and trips which inspire pupils to write. Most pupils are now attaining higher standards. Their writing continues to improve as a result of effective teaching which combines pupils’ interests and teachers’ high expectations. The majority of pupils have improved the quality, and increased the quantity, of their writing. Evidence of improved writing can be seen right across the curriculum. However, leaders rightly recognise that the quality of writing still remains inconsistent across key stage 2 classes. In the last inspection, you were asked to improve the quality of teaching to ensure that it is better matched to the pupils’ abilities. You were also asked to provide clear feedback to pupils to help them improve their work. Pupils described a variety of ways that teachers help them get better at their work. They said teachers ‘encourage, help and support’ them with their work. Older pupils talked with pride about learning something new where their teacher has ‘explained or asked questions to help you, without telling you the answer’. As a result of these improvements, pupils have clearly developed their writing skills, for example by including more imaginative words to add interest or atmosphere. The school’s assessment and tracking procedures also support teachers in ensuring that the level of challenge or support is well matched to identified learning needs.