The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. The school converted to academy status in 2014 and you have been the headteacher since then, having led the predecessor school as acting headteacher from 2013. You have a very good understanding of the quality of education provided by the school. You celebrate its successes but do not shy away from tackling areas of its work that still need development. For example, you are clear that pupils need to make faster progress in writing at key stage 2. You are ably supported by the assistant headteacher, who leads the early years, and other middle leaders in your drive for school improvement. Staff morale is very high and you all work well together as a team, with the one aim of improving pupils’ education. The local governing body provides good levels of support to you and your staff, although it is not afraid to challenge you supportively when necessary. Governors have a well-developed understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses, and there are clear procedures in place to monitor and evaluate the impact of school leaders’ actions. Governors bring a wealth of professional expertise to bear on their work, and this enhances the capacity of the governing body to exercise its role of strategic oversight. The chair of the local governing body is also the chair of the Duchy Academy Trust’s board of directors, and this ensures that understanding of the school at trust level is strong. The trust is providing effective support for the school’s improvement plans. For example, the trust’s leaders of teaching and learning are working closely with school leaders to develop pupils’ literacy. The vast majority of parents who answered the online survey, Parent View, are very pleased with the education their children receive. Their responses are full of positive statements about the school’s leadership, the quality of teaching and the impact this is having on the progress and happiness of pupils at the school. They regard the school as ‘an exciting and inspiring place’ with ‘amazing opportunities’, a place where ‘children are actively encouraged to be good citizens, treat each other with respect and care for one another’. Safeguarding is effective. The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and records are detailed and of high quality. Leaders, governors and staff act on the principle of ‘it could happen here’, and this ensures that a culture of constant vigilance is in place. Your work as designated safeguarding lead, in tandem with that of the nominated safeguarding governor, has a strong impact on improving pupils’ safety, not just in the school but also across the trust. School leaders and governors are always looking to develop their understanding of safeguarding. For example, the outcomes of a serious case review from another part of the country was the basis of staff training and led to modifications to the school’s mobile phone policy. This is the mark of a school that treats the safety of pupils with the utmost seriousness. Overall, therefore, a very robust culture of safeguarding is firmly established in the school. Inspection findings My first key line of enquiry related to reading. School leaders put a very high priority on the development of pupils’ reading skills. Across the school, pupils achieve highly in assessments of their reading. At key stage 2 in 2016, the progress made by pupils, especially boys, was much higher than the national average. A sample of current Year 6 pupils demonstrated that they, too, have well-developed reading skills and can read with fluency and expression. Reading outcomes were similarly strong in key stage 1 and the early years in 2016. For example, in Year 1, all pupils passed the phonics screening check. In the early years, nearly all children attained their early learning goal in reading as part of their early years foundation stage profile. This shows that fundamental reading skills are embedded well at an early age through a consistent and effective programme of phonics teaching. In addition to this, the school has created a wider reading culture in which a love of books is celebrated. Older pupils are enthusiastic participants in after-school book clubs and pupils’ enjoyment of reading is further stimulated by visits from authors. The second key line of enquiry concerned provision in the early years foundation stage. The leadership of early years is a strength, and outcomes are increasingly 2 good. In 2016, there was a marked rise in the proportion of children who achieved a good level of development in their early years foundation stage profile. It is now well above the national figure. In particular, the proportions of children attaining their early learning goals in reading, writing and mathematics were substantially higher than average. Children’s learning journeys are recorded very well and teachers’ assessments of progress are robust. The learning journeys of children currently in Reception show that they are making good progress from their different starting points. Children are very well prepared for Year 1 at the end of their time in the early years. A third line of enquiry centred on progress in writing. In the 2016 national curriculum assessment in writing at key stage 2, pupils made progress at a rate significantly slower than other pupils nationally. School leaders are acutely aware that this situation needs to improve quickly. Working with a leader of teaching and learning from the multi-academy trust, an action plan has been implemented to address key areas of pupils’ writing that need to improve. The work of pupils currently in Years 5 and 6 shows that they are making better progress than the most recent cohort. The work of the most able pupils is characterised by fluency, sophisticated sentence structure and creativity. Other pupils, whatever their level of ability, are also making good progress towards achieving the expected standard by the end of Year 6. Outcomes for writing in 2016 were much stronger in the early years and key stage 1, in both of which attainment was higher than the national figure. This shows that current pupils have a secure basis upon which to develop their writing further when they reach key stage 2. One area that the school is focusing on is improving pupils’ key skills in spelling, punctuation and grammar, and this was the fourth line of enquiry. School leaders have identified this as a barrier to further progress and attainment in writing for some pupils. The delivery of the curriculum has been adapted to give more time to spelling, and the teaching of punctuation and grammar is closely monitored. This is beginning to pay dividends, but it is also clear that there are pupils in the school who do not have the precise skills in writing to match their level of creativity. Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that: pupils’ attainment and progress in writing at key stage 2 improves rapidly pupils across the school develop greater accuracy in their spelling, punctuation and grammar.