The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Since taking up the position of head of school and subsequently acting headteacher, you have wasted no time in improving this popular and happy school. The leadership team works very effectively together, led by your ambitious vision. The team’s capacity for further improvement is evident. You lead with determination to ensure that all pupils are given a well-rounded and positive experience. Your desire that every child should benefit from a happy, caring and secure school where they can all enjoy their learning, flourish and achieve is underpinned by the school’s motto, ‘Only the best is good enough’. Pupils work well together in lessons, are thoughtful listeners and consider the ideas and views of one another. Pupils who met with me commented on the importance of respect as a key value. This is very much lived out in the school. Parents are overwhelmingly positive. The majority recognise the school to be a friendly and safe place for their children and praise the care and support that adults provide. As one parent commented: ‘Danemill is a warm, friendly and sociable school. It’s a real centre of the community and offers such well-rounded opportunities for the children.’ Governance, through the Discovery Schools Academy Trust (DSAT), provides valuable support and challenge to school leaders. Officers have a clear understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement. They know, for example, that pupils are not achieving as well as they should in mathematics. The most able pupils in key stage 1 do not achieve as well as they should, because teachers do not set them challenging tasks to deepen and extend their learning in reading, writing and mathematics. At the time of the previous inspection, the school was asked to improve progress in pupils’ writing. With the support of officers from DSAT, you have addressed this priority. Standards of pupils’ writing have improved across the school. Provisional information suggests that in 2018 the proportion of pupils attaining the expected standard in writing was above the national average at key stage 2. Most children generally make good progress in the early years, but too few exceed a good level of development. Pupils continue to make good progress in writing across key stages 1 and 2. Safeguarding is effective. Governors and leaders ensure that all aspects of safeguarding arrangements work well and are fit for purpose. Governors ensure that safer recruitment processes are in place and pre-employment checks of teachers and other staff are thorough. Staff know the processes which should be used if they have any concerns. Staff receive regular training and are vigilant in ensuring that all pupils are safe. The team of safeguarding leaders have a strong understanding of their responsibilities. The team has high expectations of other services and follow up concerns swiftly. Safeguarding records are very well maintained and are regularly reviewed. Pupils are taught how to be safe. This includes road safety and ‘bikeability’, as well as understanding the risks involved in online activity and the use of mobile phones. Parents are also supported in understanding online safety for their children through a range of e-safety links available on the school’s website. Overwhelmingly, parents who responded to the online survey, Parent View, say that their children are safe and happy. Pupils who met with me also said they feel safe at school. Pupils have a clear understanding of what bullying is, and those who spoke with the inspector said that they were not aware of any bullying. They are confident that they can turn to an adult, who will deal with any concerns or worries they may have. You and your staff know pupils and their families very well, and this is a strength of the school. There is a secure and effective culture of safeguarding. Inspection findings In recent years, attainment and progress indicate that pupils have underachieved in mathematics. Too few were gaining a greater depth of knowledge and understanding. Leaders with responsibility for improving mathematics, with support from DSAT, have had a significant and positive impact on the teaching of mathematics. They have established a renewed focus on mathematics, raised expectations and provided regular training for staff to implement a more appropriate approach to meet pupils’ needs. Well-trained teaching assistants ask probing questions to check pupils’ understanding. Leaders have established a mathematics curriculum that builds on pupils’ skills and knowledge from one year to the next. As a result, pupils’ learning is well structured, and the teaching of mathematics is good across the school. A focus on improving pupils’ problem-solving and reasoning skills is proving beneficial. Pupils can explain the steps they work through to solve a mathematical problem. They are often asked to justify their answers, both in writing and verbally. Improvements in the teaching mathematics are beginning to show in improved standards. Pupil attitudes to mathematics are positive and recent assessments show improvements in mathematical standards from last year, but not enough pupils are achieving greater depth. When I spoke to pupils they commented positively about mathematics. Many said they enjoy the challenging work. They also value the opportunity to extend their mathematical learning through homework. Parents value the online homework, saying that their children enjoy the interactive learning. Some parents also said that workshops for parents on mathematics were very useful in helping them to understand how they could support their child. Children in the Reception classes have not always made the progress they should. Historically, too few children attained a good level of development. You and the early years staff have made considerable changes over the last 14 months. Leadership of early years is having a positive impact on children’s learning. Leaders have made sure that skilled adults are deployed to strengthen the provision. Most children are well prepared for key stage 1. There is now a clear focus to ensure that children in early years gain a firm foundation on which to develop. Learning is planned to be flexible to meet the needs of children in areas such as communication and language, and physical development. Provisional information shows that the proportion who reached a good level of development increased in 2018, to be above the national average. However, too few children exceeded this measure. Attendance has been below national average and persistent absence has been high for several years. You have tackled this problem with energy and determination over the last year. You, your family support worker and deputy headteacher have reached out to parents of pupils who have poor attendance in a supportive yet uncompromising way. You have engaged with external agencies and have used a range of strategies to make sure pupils attend school regularly. Persistent absence has reduced and overall attendance has improved. Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that: the quality of teaching improves further so that pupils build on their reasoning and application skills and deepen their mathematical understanding teaching enables more children in the early years to exceed a good level of development pupils in key stage 1 are set more challenging tasks and are supported so that a greater portion attain greater depth. I am copying this letter to the chair of the board of trustees and the chief executive officer of DSAT, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Leicestershire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website. Yours sincerely Chris Davies Her Majesty’s Inspector Information about the inspection During the inspection I met with you, your deputy headteacher and leaders of mathematics and early years. I also met the head of governance and school improvement partner from DSAT. We visited classrooms, looked at workbooks and talked with pupils in lessons. Together, we also looked at the quality of pupils’ mathematics work. I had a discussion with a group of pupils from Years 5 and 6. We considered the school’s information on the progress being made by current pupils. We looked at a range of documentary evidence. This included the school’s evaluation of its own performance and plans for improvement. I looked at various documents related to safeguarding, including the single central record and examples of referrals made to external agencies. I met with you and your deputy designated senior safeguarding leaders. We evaluated current rates of attendance. I gathered the views of parents at the beginning of the school day. I also took account of 28 responses to Parent View and considered the free text responses. I reviewed the results of 27 staff questionnaires and examined the school’s website.