The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You, senior leaders and governors are determined to make the school the best it can be. You have successfully created a positive culture in which pupils learn and enjoy their education. The ethos of the school is reflected in its motto, ‘Together we can achieve excellence.’ Your enthusiasm and commitment to the school and your high expectations of everyone is evident. There is a strong team spirit at Goodmayes. All the staff who responded to the survey said that they are proud to work at the school, and that they enjoy their jobs. Relationships between staff and pupils are warm and supportive. You have taken effective action to address the areas for improvement that were identified at the last inspection. Pupils of different abilities are now provided with learning tasks that are better matched to their needs. They are given opportunities to work independently in order to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding. There is good guidance for pupils about how to improve their work. Pupils now understand the feedback systems that their teachers provide. Governors are committed, skilled and knowledgeable. They bring a wealth of expertise and experience to the school. They offer a highly effective balance of support and challenge. When governors visit, they follow up areas for improvement. Minutes of governors’ meetings detail the range of questions they ask, as they challenge leaders and hold them to account for pupils’ outcomes. Pupils are polite and courteous and behave very well. They offer a warm welcome to visitors and pupils who are new to the school. Pupils have a good understanding of tolerance, and mutual respect is evident in the way they relate to one another. They enjoy their learning and work together effectively. Pupils who spoke to me unanimously agreed that they would not change anything about their school, as it is such a welcoming place to be. Safeguarding is effective. There is a strong culture of safeguarding across the school. Leaders, including governors, ensure that the school meets its statutory duties. High-quality, regular training for all staff ensures that they know how to keep children safe and what to do if they have a concern about a child. Leaders make thorough checks on the suitability of staff to work in the school and keep precise records of their actions. The school’s safeguarding governor visits the school regularly to check these records and make sure that procedures have been followed diligently. A comprehensive induction plan helps new staff understand the high focus given to safeguarding in this school. Policies and procedures are securely embedded, and referrals are made in a timely way. As a result, vulnerable children and families are supported effectively. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe. Teachers make sure that pupils develop their skills and understanding of e-safety and healthy lifestyles. Pupils know about different ways of protecting themselves when using the internet. Inspection findings At the start of the inspection, we agreed a number of lines of enquiry that we would consider to determine whether the school remained good. Firstly, we reviewed how effectively girls are supported to achieve well in the early years. This was because a lower proportion of girls than boys achieved the expected standard in the early learning goals in 2017. Leaders know children’s abilities and plan provision that meets their different learning needs, including the most able, very well. Leaders ensure that children from different nurseries who have not begun to learn phonics, for example, are supported to catch up. Girls and boys engage in purposeful activities and show strong levels of independence and resilience. Work seen suggests that girls are making similar good progress as boys. Leadership of the early years is strong and continues to drive forward improvements. We also considered the quality of teaching in phonics as a line of enquiry. This was because the proportion of pupils who reached the expected standard in their Year 1 phonics screening check has been inconsistent since the previous inspection and was below the national average in 2017. Raising the consistency of expectation and the quality of teaching in phonics have been areas you identified in your school improvement plan this year.