The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Since your appointment, you have developed a strong team of staff who are proud to work at this school. You are ably supported by your assistant headteacher. Together, you have established a vibrant and inclusive environment in which pupils feel valued and safe. The five school values of creativity, collaboration, courage, care and Christian faith underpin all aspects of school life. One pupil summarised the importance of these values by commenting: ‘They are values to live by. They help us in our learning, in our friendships and they are preparing us for secondary school.’ Since the school joined Hope Learning Trust in December 2016, you and your staff value the partnership working and the shared vision to provide the best education and support for pupils, so that they can thrive. You place a high priority on the development of senior and middle leaders. You have invested in high-quality professional development, with some leaders attending courses to gain national qualifications in leadership. This strengthening of leadership at all levels has resulted in consistent approaches to teaching, learning and assessment across the school. The majority of parents and carers shared positive views of the school. They particularly like the positive relationship between home and school, the strong sense of community and the good progress that their children make academically. One parent commented: ‘My children really enjoy going to school. They’re learning and developing well, they have good relationships with the children and teachers, they feel safe and looked after. I don’t think I could ask for any more from a school.’ Pupils say that they enjoy their learning and can talk enthusiastically about how proud they are of their work, particularly in English, mathematics, science and art. They are enthusiastic about the wide range of music tuition which is available to them. For example, pupils can learn to play piano, trumpet, clarinet, saxophone or violin. They also appreciate the opportunities to take on a responsibility, talking with pride about being a school councillor, mini sports leader, librarian or class monitor. You have dealt effectively with the areas for development identified at your predecessor school’s last inspection. You have established effective leadership systems to check on the quality of teaching. Pupils in key stage 2 have become more independent, because teacher questioning and feedback skilfully enable pupils to discover knowledge for themselves. The mathematics curriculum now provides pupils with regular opportunities for problem solving and applying their mathematical skills across a range of subjects. Pupils have strong phonic knowledge, leading to attainment in the Year 1 phonics screening check being above the national average over time. You have ensured that teachers provide all pupils with greater challenge in all subjects. As a result, all current groups of pupils, including the most able, are making good progress. However, the proportions of pupils attaining the higher standards in mathematics, writing and English: grammar punctuation and spelling at the end of key stage 2 in 2018 were below the national averages. The local governing body is responsible for the strategic development of the school, and its members have a clear understanding of their delegated duties. Governors liaise closely with you and other leaders, to assure themselves of the effect that leaders’ actions are having on school improvement. Individual governors are linked to the priorities on the school development plan that match their areas of interest and responsibility. This helps them to obtain an accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for development. For example, governors identified that increasing the proportion of pupils attaining higher standards, particularly in writing and mathematics, is a priority. Governors recognise that the range of experience and expertise that they bring to their roles provides a wide perspective to their work. This helps them to ask challenging questions and hold leaders to account. Safeguarding is effective. Leaders make sure that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and that effective action is taken to safeguard pupils. Systems for checking the suitability of staff, volunteers and visitors to the school are thorough and well organised. You have created a strong culture of safeguarding within the school, with all staff knowing that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. Staff are confident to follow the clear and accountable systems that you have established. You ensure that staff and governors receive regular training and updates related to safeguarding. Staff who are new to the school receive detailed safeguarding training and information as part of their induction. All parents who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire Parent View and those who shared their views in person with the inspector believe that their children are safe in the school. The vast majority of pupils share this view, saying that they feel safe and they are taught how to keep themselves safe. This includes, for example, learning about road safety, personal safety and adopting safe practices when online. The vast majority of pupils say that bullying is not a problem, but, if it did occur, they state that adults in the school would be able to resolve it. Inspection findings By the end of key stages 1 and 2 in 2018, pupils’ attainment in writing at the expected standard was weaker compared to their attainment in other subjects. I looked at the quality of teaching and learning in writing. Pupils get off to a strong start with their writing, because of a wide range of writing opportunities in the Reception class. Recent approaches to developing pupils’ independence in writing provide opportunities for pupils to edit and redraft their writing. As a result, pupils are improving the application of knowledge and skills in their written work. Teachers have secure subject knowledge when teaching complex vocabulary with related grammar and punctuation. This has resulted in pupils understanding complex reading texts and using ambitious vocabulary within their written work. However, sometimes pupils’ written work lacks the quality of presentation and accuracy that is needed to further develop their fluency in writing. In 2018, the proportion of pupils attaining the higher standards in writing, mathematics and English: grammar, punctuation and spelling at the end of key stage 2 was below the national averages. I wanted to find out if teachers were providing enough challenge to pupils, particularly the most able. Pupils’ work in books and the school’s own assessment systems indicate that the proportion of pupils currently working within a greater depth of learning in every subject has increased compared to last academic year. However, pupils’ spelling knowledge is not as strong. Although pupils are competent at using spelling patterns which are ambitious for their year group, they do not have secure knowledge of spelling patterns they have learned historically. These regular errors in spelling patterns are preventing some pupils from reaching the higher standards in both the grammar, punctuation and spelling tests and in their general writing. You have enabled your inclusion worker to liaise closely with the special educational needs coordinator from the multi-academy trust. Together, their work is effective in providing support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). You ensure that staff have high expectations for these pupils. As a result, they make good progress from their starting points, particularly in reading and mathematics. Parents of pupils with SEND are happy with the support their children receive. The attendance of pupils with SEND is above the national average. You and your governors check regularly on the progress of disadvantaged pupils.