The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. After taking up your post three years ago, you have systematically and thoughtfully made changes that have improved the school. Staff, pupils and parents recognise that the school has progressed, so much so that you and your leadership team now provide support to schools within your local partnership. In particular, you have developed the expertise of your senior and middle leaders. They now make a greater contribution to moving the school forward. For example, the early years leader has improved links with the partner pre-school and developed the early years provision. Middle and senior leaders are also working effectively with the very small number of teachers whose practice in some areas needs further development. Pupils are enthused by the positive atmosphere that you and your staff have created. The emphasis you place on academic excellence, as well as the arts, inspires and energises the entire community. In displays around the school I could see how positively pupils have responded to trips to museums and places of interest, as well as to the visits of professional writers and artists. One parent echoed the views of many, commenting on Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, ‘I am particularly impressed with the energy and enthusiasm of the teachers.’ You, your leadership team and the governors, are determined that the experiences pupils have while at the school are of the highest quality. To this end, you have stringently checked the effectiveness of some of the earlier approaches you adopted, updating them where necessary. For example, you have refined the approach to assessment you implemented initially after national curriculum levels were removed. You recognise that, currently, the curriculum in some foundation subjects does not enable pupils to gain expertise in the way that it does in core subjects. When we observed learning we were struck by how effective teachers’ and assistants’ practice in questioning was in most classes, including in Reception. They often asked probing questions which required pupils and children to think deeply. Searching questions are also helping pupils develop their ability to reason and work out answers for themselves, particularly in mathematics. Across the school, pupils develop the skills required to read effectively. We observed how well pupils coped with interpreting the challenging texts teachers had chosen as class readers. You and your leadership team are also successfully improving writing, which was a key area for development from the school’s previous inspection. The scope of pupils’ writing is now broader and pupils have a better grasp of the grammatical features associated with different styles of writing. You are aware that some older pupils’ spelling is not quite as accurate as you want it to be and have strong plans in place to rectify this. The governing body has changed a great deal over the past couple of years and is now much more focused and thorough in its work. Working alongside the headteacher, the governing body has enhanced the way it oversees the school’s work, including safeguarding. Governors have high expectations for pupils. They carefully question leaders about the impact of their work on pupils, especially on that of disadvantaged pupils. They sensibly insist that leaders provide evidence to support their assertions. Safeguarding is effective. The changes you have made since joining the school have improved the understanding of safeguarding and the level of vigilance within the school team. You have worked well with governors to tighten up processes for dealing with safeguarding issues, including concerns raised by staff. You have deepened the expertise in safeguarding of staff and have sensibly trained a number of staff to deputise for the designated safeguarding lead. You are adept at keeping up to date with, and disseminating, safeguarding information, including tips about online safety. Safeguarding procedures and processes are effective and fit for purpose. You are working in a variety of ways to support pupils and their families so that barriers to learning, such as low self-esteem and poor attendance, are removed. You rightly see this as a priority and have sensibly organised specialist training in emotional literacy for a teaching assistant. She works well with the pupils referred to her, assisting them in managing their high levels of anxiety and understanding their own emotions. Feedback from parents and pupils suggests that her work is making a positive difference.