The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the previous inspection. You and your leadership team work closely with middle leaders to provide a rich educational experience for pupils. Your team shares a clear vision for the school that comes alive in the vibrant displays in corridors, classrooms and shared areas. Pupils are immersed in their learning and enjoy regular themed weeks and special events such as ‘dress-up’ days. During Mathematics Week, pupils enjoyed making a mathematics game at home and the school organised a range of workshops for parents. A Year 6 pupil told us, ‘This school is good at everything!’ Millfields is a welcoming school that serves a diverse community. Your staff, parents and pupils told us that they are proud of their school and love being there. In their feedback, parents typically spoke of a positive, friendly, welcoming school with an inclusive ethos. Pupils explained that the school ‘is a democracy’, where everyone is included and given the opportunity to succeed. They take responsibility for improving their school by participating in groups such as the ‘peace corps’, peer mediators and eco-champions. The staff team flourishes at Millfields thanks to your commitment to their professional development and well-being. You effectively train new teachers, support teachers new to their roles and ‘grow’ your own leaders. Your retention of teachers and leaders allows the school to continually build on its successes. Leaders are generous with the support they offer to their teams and to developing teachers and leaders in other local schools. Your governors are also highly committed and speak passionately about the part they play in the life of the school. They engage actively in their roles and are regular visitors to the school. At the previous inspection, weaknesses were identified in aspects of mathematics teaching and pupils’ outcomes in mathematics. While there have been some improvements, you recognise that more work needs to be done. The school is also working to improve the progress of disadvantaged pupils, some of whom continue to underachieve. We agreed to pursue both of these areas of the school’s work as key lines of enquiry for this inspection. Safeguarding is effective. Safeguarding practice is managed rigorously at the school. As designated safeguarding lead, you ensure that arrangements for keeping children safe are fit for purpose and that records are well organised, detailed and clear. Safeguarding training for staff is comprehensive and up to date. You and the inclusion leader have a clear understanding of the local risks to your pupils and their families. The inclusion leader talked me through case studies that showed how the school follows up concerns thoroughly. This can involve engaging support from a range of specialists, including social care where appropriate. You work effectively with the school’s pastoral team and community partners, such as the local police, to promote the safety and welfare of pupils. Pupils told us that they feel safe at school and that if they have a concern they ask an adult to help. They talked about e-safety and anti-bullying lessons, assemblies and special events when they learn how to stay safe. In their view, there is very little bullying at the school, and any incidents in the playground are dealt with by their teachers. The majority of parents who responded to Parent View also reported that the school deals effectively with bullying and that their child is happy at school. Inspection findings We agreed that the inspection would focus on three particular areas of the school’s work: pupils’ achievement in mathematics; the effectiveness of provision for disadvantaged pupils; and the gap between boys’ and girls’ achievement. Over time, pupils’ progress and attainment in mathematics have been broadly average and less positive than in reading and writing. In response to this, you changed your mathematics teaching strategy to one with a greater focus on conceptual understanding and problem solving. As a result, in 2017, there was an improvement in pupils’ attainment and progress in key stage 2 mathematics. During the inspection, we observed teachers using the new approach in lessons. They explained mathematics concepts clearly and demonstrated accurate subject knowledge. Pupils in all classes were engaged in their mathematics lessons, and their books showed that they had made good progress since September. We met with the school’s mathematics team members and they showed how the strategies they introduced last year are having a positive impact on pupils’ progress in mathematics across the school. They are committed to continuing this work in order to improve pupils’ progress further.