The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education since the previous inspection. The passion you feel for the school has created a very positive culture. Staff and governors are committed to doing the best they can so that all pupils can succeed. Yours is an inclusive school which strives to meet the specific learning, social and emotional needs of all pupils. The parents I spoke with were full of praise for the quality of education that their children are receiving. They value the fact that you and other staff make the time to discuss any concerns that they may have. Parents and members of staff commented on the fact that the school feels like a family in which the members take care of each other. As one parent said, ‘The lovely thing about this school is that it is a community.’ Among other very positive comments, parents described the school as being ‘fantastic’ and ‘amazing’. During the previous inspection, inspectors identified partnership with parents as an area for development. You have successfully tackled this issue. You now use social media to communicate directly with parents. You have an open door policy and have introduced morning learning sessions for parents. Teachers send postcards home to recognise pupils’ good work. Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, showed that the vast majority of parents feel well informed about their children’s progress. Since the last inspection, you have also been successful in improving pupils’ use of grammar, punctuation and spelling in their writing. In 2017, the percentage of pupils achieving the expected standard in the English grammar, punctuation and spelling test at the end of key stage 2 was above the national average. When you and I looked at pupils’ work it was clear that pupils now apply their grammatical understanding to improve the quality of their written work. In response to recommendations in the previous inspection report, you have also reviewed your arrangements for managing teachers’ performance. The objectives that you set are now more focused and more easily measureable. The children I spoke with said how much they like being pupils at Ladywood Primary School. Pupils in key stage 2 find the level of challenge in lessons about right. As one pupil told me, ‘When you get stuck, they come and help.’ Pupils believe that they are well taught. This view was supported by the parents I spoke with and by parents’ responses to the online questionnaire. Pupils also value the enrichment activities that you provide, such as the trip to Edale for pupils in Year 6 and the ‘Big Camp Out’. A particular strength of the school is the work you do for your most vulnerable pupils. They find that learning can, at times, be difficult. Your Maple Tree provision helps to develop these pupils’ self-confidence. Initiatives such as your ‘Adventurers’ and ‘Thrive’ programmes are also helping to do this. As a result, they gain the social and communication skills that help them to become more effective learners. Pupils make good progress in key stage 2. The standards that they achieve by the end of key stage 2 are broadly similar to those achieved by pupils nationally. In 2017, the percentage of pupils achieving the expected standard was above the national average in mathematics and in line with the national average in writing. In reading, it was slightly below average. The percentage of pupils achieving the higher standard was above the national average in mathematics but below it in reading and writing. At the end of key stage 1, pupils made similar progress to their peers nationally in 2017. The standards they reached in reading, writing and mathematics, however, were below those achieved nationally. Teaching does not always provide enough challenge in key stage 1 to allow pupils to make the faster progress they need to catch up. Governors know the school well and are keen for all pupils to do well. They are fully aware of the strategic role of the governing body. It provides you and other leaders with the right balance of challenge and support. Governors have a broad range of professional expertise, which helps the governing body to carry out its roles effectively. Your own assessment of the school’s performance is sound. Your analysis of assessment data is not as rigorous and evaluative as it might be. The current priorities to improve the school are clear and well chosen. As you agreed, however, they do not provide a strategic enough approach to planning in the longer term.