The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Gunness and Burringham Church of England Primary School is a well-organised school that fosters a warm, welcoming ethos. You have created a school environment that is attractive and purposeful. As you walk around the school, the work on display makes it clear that the pupils receive a wide range of experiences that broaden their understanding of the world around them. You are working hard to raise the aspirations of the pupils and you have developed a culture that is caring and supportive. There have been significant changes to the school’s senior leadership team since the last inspection. Since your arrival, you have worked hard to build upon the strengths of the school and continue to make improvements. You have established a small team of leaders who have a good understanding of what needs to be done to continue to improve. You have accurately identified the school’s priorities. However, the plans that you write are not closely focused enough on the most urgent priorities. Sometimes, these plans lack detail and this means that they do not have the desired effect or take too long to make a difference. You have worked hard to develop links with the community. Parents are supportive of the school and say that their children are happy to come to school. One parent said, ’I am very happy with the support and care my children receive.’ Pupils are well behaved. They are polite and courteous and speak confidently to adults. In lessons, pupils are focused on their activities and take part in activities enthusiastically. They are supportive of one another and older pupils are keen to help their younger friends. During the previous inspection, inspectors recommended that teachers continue to develop planned opportunities for pupils to use outdoor spaces to enhance learning. You have thought carefully about how you use your finances to provide maximum benefit for the pupils. You have chosen to develop the outdoor area for the children in the early years and this has had a positive effect. You have managed to ensure that children in the early years are able to access a broad range of curriculum areas in the outdoor environment, despite the limited space. Children enjoy linking their topic to independent activities that are well resourced. The new outdoor equipment enables children to continue or improve the experiences they have in the classroom. As a result, the proportion of pupils reaching a good level of development has improved. Safeguarding is effective. You and your staff place the safeguarding of pupils as a high priority. You provide colleagues with regular updates and safeguarding procedures are understood by all members of staff. Staff understand the need to report any concerns to you or your deputy safeguarding lead and know who to talk to, should they have any concerns about the conduct of adults. You maintain detailed records of any safeguarding issues. These records are used to act swiftly and decisively should you have any concerns. You make appropriate checks to ensure that newly appointed staff are fit to work with children. Governors provide you with challenge to ensure that your safeguarding procedures are adhered to. Pupils say that they feel safe in school. They appreciate having a ‘named adult’ in school to talk to should they be worried or need help. Pupils are confident that behaviour in school is good and bullying is not an issue. Pupils feel that if they were to have any problems with bullying it would be addressed quickly. You provide pupils with a good range of opportunities in the curriculum to learn how to stay safe. They are knowledgeable about how they can stay safe online and understand what to do if they had any concerns when using the internet. Inspection findings The proportion of pupils reaching the higher standards in reading at the end of key stage 1 has been below the national average for some time. I wanted to find out what leaders are doing to build upon the improved outcomes in the Year 1 phonics screening check to ensure that more pupils reach these higher standards. The English leader is knowledgeable about her subject and enthuses about the importance of the teaching of reading. She makes regular checks on the quality of teaching and learning and uses this to provide staff with support. Assessment information is used well to inform leaders’ actions. This year, leaders have adjusted the school timetable to allow pupils more time to develop their reading comprehension skills. There is now a more consistent approach to the teaching of reading being used in key stage 2. In key stage 2, evidence of work in books shows that all groups of pupils are challenged and make good progress. In key stage 1 there is a less consistent approach, and this means that there are occasions when the most able pupils are not sufficiently challenged. In key stage 1, pupils are not challenged to draw upon their own experiences or justify their answers using evidence often enough. Leaders have identified this and recognise that this is an important area for improvement. Outcomes in English and mathematics have improved in recent years. The school’s website provides information about leaders’ plans to develop other subject areas. I wanted to find out how successful leaders have been in ensuring that pupils’ progress continues to improve in subjects other than English and mathematics. Leaders have begun to review the content of the curriculum for subjects other than English and mathematics. The content of each subject area has been checked against the expectations of the national curriculum. Leaders have begun to consider how they enable pupils to build upon learning from the previous year. This work is in its infancy and is not yet fully embedded. You recognise that further work needs to be done to ensure that pupils in mixed-age classes make the progress you expect of them as they move into the next academic year. Evidence of work in books shows that pupils do make progress. However, work in pupils’ books also shows that in some aspects the learning lacks depth. Sometimes, pupils learn facts about their topics but miss out on developing a deeper understanding of the subject material. You have begun to develop the leadership of subjects other than English and mathematics. Some leaders have begun to check the quality of teaching and learning in their subject. Leaders use a simple but effective system to check how well pupils achieve. However, this work has just begun and is not yet fully embedded. Not all subject leaders have a good understanding of the quality of teaching and learning in their subject. Your improvement plans identify this as an area to improve. My final focus for the inspection was to check how well you promote spiritual, moral, social and cultural education. Following your previous inspection, inspectors recommended that pupils have the opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of people and cultures other than their own. Pupils discuss different religions regularly and are knowledgeable about different faiths and beliefs. Whole-school assemblies promote an understanding of tolerance and respect. The texts that pupils study provide opportunities to learn about other cultures. Older pupils consider the effects of racism and differences between people and societies. Behaviour in and around the school is good; children develop a strong sense of right and wrong from an early age and this develops through the school until pupils discuss fundamental issues such as human rights. There are regular opportunities for pupils to reflect and your weekly service provides an opportunity for worship.