The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You have built on your reputation in the community. Many pupils come from outside of the locality. Parents know you provide a good experience for their children. The school is inclusive and supportive. Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the education that their children receive. The comment of one parent reflects the thoughts of many: ‘Glenfall is a good primary school where teachers clearly care about students’ wellbeing as well as their academic success.’ You have changed the way you teach mathematics in the school. The changes are very successful in key stage 2. Many of the practices developed are evident in the teaching of other core subjects. As a result, progress in reading, writing and mathematics was in the top 25% nationally for the end of key stage tests in 2017. You have benefited in other ways, too. Your success in this area has led to the school being a local hub for the teaching of mathematics. You have shared your practice with many teachers. A university in a neighbouring county provided you with the chance to explain your success. This has been valuable personal professional development. You know that the successful practices need to be more developed in key stage 1. We discussed the progress made in writing. We noticed that opportunities for pupils to write extensively were limited by teachers’ instructions. There were few occasions when pupils could write extensively. As a result, pupils are not showing the stamina or expertise for writing at greater depth. You reviewed the marking and feedback policy following the last inspection. Initially, you were monitoring its impact closely. Recently, you have noticed that there is inconsistency in its application by some teachers. You are going to revert to the close monitoring again. In this way, teachers will support pupils’ improvement in their work consistently. Pupils, in both key stages, will learn from their errors continually. You want pupils to make more rapid progress, especially in writing. Safeguarding is effective. You encourage a culture where pupils are safe and secure in the school at all times. All safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. You protect pupils well once the school day begins. The gates to the site are locked and the reception area is secure. You are vigilant in working with pupils, parents and external agencies to monitor and support the most vulnerable pupils. Staff are trained in how to keep pupils safe from abuse, sexual exploitation, and from the influence of radical or extreme views. Older pupils are aware of the dangers of social media. They are looking forward to training on how to ride a bicycle safely later this term. Inspection findings We discussed the work you are doing to improve outcomes in key stage 1. You have invested in practical equipment to support the learning of mathematics. This helps younger pupils who struggle with abstract concepts. Equally, teachers are questioning pupils more purposefully. Teachers probe expertly and encourage pupils to find the solution. You have focused on pupils’ reading. The library has non-fiction works and junior newspapers, as well as fiction. This supports a wider understanding of texts available. Parents and grandparents visit the school to share what they are reading. Pupils enjoy these activities. They broaden pupils’ awareness of reading materials. In writing, teachers have received training to make their subject knowledge more secure. Teachers are working on grammar exercises in stimulating ways. Pupils gain proofreading skills as a result. Spelling is a constant focus. Pupils work on new spellings for homework. Parents support this well. More pupils are working at the expected standard but you know that more need to be working at the higher standard, too. Next, we discussed the progress and attendance of disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. You have worked with parents to explain the importance of regular education. You have highlighted the impact that non-attendance can have on pupil progress. Attendance overall, and for groups of pupils, is in line with the national average or better, now. You appointed a new special educational needs coordinator three years ago. She is highly qualified and knowledgeable about the different needs of pupils. You have a higher number of pupils who have education, health and care plans than the national average. The coordinator was undertaking reviews of the plans with parents, representatives from the local authority, teachers and teaching assistants on the day of the inspection. The special educational needs coordinator communicates well with all relevant parties involved with a pupil. Everyone understands an individual pupil’s needs. One parent wanted to share with the lead inspector her gratitude for what the school had achieved for her child. The progress of other pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is good, too. School leaders are very successful in this work. We looked at the development of children in the early years phase and Year 1. The early years leader is working with the teacher of Year 1. Before, there was a lack of transition support between Reception and Year 1. Children were not as ready for progress in Year 1 as expected. Now, phonics teaching happens in Reception. Children write their letters from the start. Children are able to listen and attend from the beginning of their time in school. The stimuli for literacy and numeracy are not used advantageously. There are too few opportunities for children to develop their numeracy skills independently. For example, the numbers from one to 20 are above sight level for children in Reception class. There is further work to do in this area to ensure that more children are reaching a good level of development, or exceeding it. Similarly, pupils in Year 1 need more challenge so that progress in key stage 1 improves. Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that: pupils of middle and high ability make the best possible progress from Reception class onwards. As a result, more pupils in key stage 1, including those who are disadvantaged, are provided with challenge to deepen their thinking, write at a greater depth and reason more proficiently in mathematics teachers improve pupils’ writing at key stages 1 and 2 by supporting pupils in the correct use of punctuation and grammatical structures, so more achieve greater depth. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Gloucestershire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website. Yours sincerely Kathy Maddocks Her Majesty’s Inspector Information about the inspection During the inspection, I met with you, the deputy headteacher, the special educational needs coordinator, the early years leader and governors. I had a telephone conversation with the school’s educational partner for the local authority. I spoke informally with pupils. I visited lessons for all classes in the school. I looked at the quality of work in pupils’ exercise books and considered documentary evidence relating to the impact of the school’s work, including safeguarding. I took into account 76 responses to the Ofsted online survey, Parent View, and 58 comments written by parents.