The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Leaders at Froxfield Church of England Primary School have continued to provide the rich learning environment and high-quality pastoral support identified in the previous inspection report. Consequently, pupils are resilient, kind and have positive attitudes towards learning. Through your strong leadership, the focus on developing the academic skills and well-being of each pupil is shared by your staff and evident throughout the curriculum. Parents are unanimous in their praise of the school’s vision and commitment to ensuring that every pupil receives a good standard of education. This was clear in the numerous responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, describing the school’s ‘highly nurturing environment’ and its ‘very approachable staff’. One parent’s comment, typical of the views of many, stated that, ‘The school is like no other as the children are the priority.’ In collaboration with the governing body, leadership has continued to improve the quality of education and pastoral support. You have established highly effective monitoring and support systems to develop the quality of teaching, learning and assessment in all areas of the curriculum. Consequently, staff feel very well supported and are unanimous in their positive evaluation of the improvements at the school since the last inspection. Governance is strong at Froxfield. The governing body actively gathers a range of information about the school’s performance to inform their questioning and challenge of leaders. Governors know the school very well. They have actively supported the school’s improvements and provided appropriate expertise, in addition to raising funds to provide an excellent library in the school’s playground. Pupils’ behaviour is exemplary. They are kind, respectful and supportive of each other. Many pupils and parents told me that a key strength of the school is its small size, as everyone is friendly and knows one another. One pupil’s comment was echoed by many others, ‘The school is more than a school, it is a real community.’ Throughout the curriculum, pupils develop a strong and informed understanding of the importance of tolerance, free speech and democracy. Pupils also learn about the lives of other communities. For example, the school has strong links with a school in Ghana. You correctly judge reading to be a strength of the school. Pupils told me how much they love reading. High-quality texts underpin many areas of the curriculum enabling pupils to develop strong reading and writing skills in English, geography, history and science. As a result, pupils make very good progress, with high attainment in reading at the end of both key stages 1 and 2. You and your leadership team take effective action when you consider that improvement is needed. For example, your focus on improving pupils’ achievement in writing resulted in good progress at the end of key stage 2 in 2018. However, you recognise that there are aspects of the school’s provision where further development is required. For example, your school improvement plan accurately identifies the need to increase pupils’ progress in mathematics in both key stages 1 and 2, as the proportion of pupils who made good progress in 2018 declined. Safeguarding is effective. Leaders, including governors, ensure that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and that records are maintained securely. The school’s recruitment processes are undertaken systematically and checks regarding adults’ suitability to work with pupils are recorded appropriately. Inspection evidence demonstrates that leaders and staff are alert and tenacious in their work to safeguard pupils and provide effective support to those who require it. Adults working at the school receive thorough safeguarding training and regular updates, so they know what to look out for and how to respond. Pupils at Froxfield are confident, resilient and understand how to keep themselves safe in a range of contexts. Pupils told me how they keep themselves safe when online. They were able to identify different types of bullying and, although it is extremely rare at their school, they said that staff can resolve issues quickly and effectively. All parents who responded to the Ofsted questionnaire, Parent View, agreed that their children are safe, well cared for and happy in their learning. Inspection findings This inspection’s first line of enquiry focused on how leaders ensure that the most able pupils, including the most able disadvantaged, make strong progress and attain well at key stages 1 and 2 in reading, writing and mathematics. This was an area for improvement from the previous inspection. Leaders have worked hard to make sure that the most able pupils, including the most able disadvantaged pupils, receive additional challenge across the curriculum. For example, I observed pupils reflecting knowledgeably on their choice of adjectives and nouns when writing about a dragon in the class for Years 5 and 6. The most able pupils at the end of key stage 2 exceeded the national average for both reading and writing for the higher standard in 2017 and in 2018. Additionally, pupils at the end of key stage 1 improved their attainment of the expected standard and greater depth for reading, writing and mathematics in 2017 and 2018. The most able pupils, however, do not consistently make rapid progress and attain at the higher standard at key stage 2 in mathematics. The progress that pupils made in mathematics by the end of key stage 2 declined in 2018. You have acknowledged this issue and taken immediate action to improve pupils’ outcomes. You have identified the importance of pupils being able to use mathematical concepts and skills fluently and confidently. You have also recognised the importance of pupils being able to articulate their understanding of the methods they use to solve problems. You have put in place training to support staff in embedding innovative strategies to enhance pupils’ reasoning skills and develop the necessary fluency and confidence. It is, however, too early to evaluate the impact of these strategies. My second key line of enquiry was about the breadth and balance of the curriculum. The previous inspection identified the importance of pupils maintaining their concentration to improve their learning. The curriculum is engaging, vibrant and challenging, enabling pupils to remain focused. I observed pupils learning in a range of lessons, including physical education (PE), history and science. Their enthusiasm for each subject ensured that they remained focused throughout the lesson. For example, in Years 5 and 6 science, pupils were able to clearly explain their understanding of the factors that caused the failure of a parachute. The curriculum is carefully structured to meet the needs of all pupils and there is a strong focus on cross-curricular learning. For example, I observed pupils in Years 3 and 4 sourcing historical information about the Stone Age from resources around the school, as part of their cross-curricular study for the novel ‘Stone Age Boy’. You and your leaders regularly review the impact of subjects on pupils’ progress. Subject leaders are highly involved in the development of their responsibility areas. Their monitoring of the quality of teaching, learning and assessment allows them to adapt and revise the delivery of subjects effectively. Consequently, pupils experience a rich and varied curriculum that involves firsthand experience of the topics they are studying. This is often through trips to places, such as the visit to Portsmouth Harbour by Year 1. My third line of enquiry focused on how well pupils are taught to keep safe, both at school and in the world beyond. One of the strengths of the school is the strong pastoral support offered to every pupil. As a result, pupils are well informed about how to stay safe and were able to demonstrate their sharp awareness of danger. Staff also develop pupils’ emotional well-being very well. Pupils value the ways in which they are supported to build friendships and help others. Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that: pupils develop their mathematical reasoning skills so that all, including the most able, make stronger progress. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the director of education for the Diocese of Portsmouth, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Hampshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website. Yours sincerely Susan Aykin Her Majesty’s Inspector Information about the inspection For this inspection, I had meetings with you, other senior leaders and middle leaders. I had a meeting with four governors. I spoke with pupils informally in classrooms and when walking around the school’s site. I also met formally with a group of 14 pupils to gather their views about the school. I visited a range of lessons to look at pupils’ learning across all phases and carried out a separate scrutiny of pupils’ work. Policies and procedures for the safeguarding of pupils were examined, along with the record of recruitment checks carried out on all adults working at the school. A range of documentation was looked at, including: the school’s self-evaluation and improvement plans; information relating to pupils’ achievement, attendance and behaviour; the minutes of governors’ meetings; and curriculum plans. I considered the views of 57 parents who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, including free-text comments. I also considered the views of 18 members of staff who responded to Ofsted’s online survey.