Ably supported by your leadership team, you have maintained and built on the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You have created a warm, nurturing culture, underpinned by the school’s Christian values, in which pupils and staff alike flourish. There is a genuine love for learning in this school. Teachers have very high expectations of their pupils, who respond by trying their hardest at all times. As a result, pupils achieve outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics that are at least in line with national averages. Parents have a deep appreciation for all that you and your staff do for their children. They hold you and your staff in very high regard. They rightly believe that their children are safe and well taught. One parent who responded to the online survey wrote, ‘Staff are amazing and there is lots of after-school provision.’ Another parent commented, ‘I am always impressed by the feeling of community and social responsibility displayed by the pupils.’ Your staff feel very well supported. All those who responded to the online survey said that they were proud to work at the school. You have ensured that all staff benefit from high-quality training. You encourage teachers aspiring to leadership positions to pursue further professional qualifications, while experienced teachers provide effective support to those who are new to the profession. You take account of teachers’ workloads when planning improvements. A member of staff who responded to the online survey wrote, ‘Leaders ensure that well-being is paramount for both pupils and staff.’ At the previous inspection, the lead inspector noted many strengths. In particular, she praised the rapid progress that pupils made, the improvements in outcomes for children in the Reception class and leaders’ commitment to continuous improvement. These areas of your work remain strong and have improved further since the inspection. The lead inspector went on to recommend that teachers track the progress of different groups of pupils more carefully. She also suggested that leaders put in place a more consistent approach to rewarding pupils’ good behaviour. You have successfully addressed both of these recommendations. Teachers’ planning takes full account of the needs of all groups of pupils, in particular disadvantaged pupils, those who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities and the most able. You also make effective use of the pupil premium to remove any barriers to learning for disadvantaged pupils. As a result, published and provisional outcomes demonstrate that all groups of pupils make rates of progress that are similar to those achieved by all other pupils nationally. The school’s Christian values underpin your approach to managing pupils’ behaviour. Pupils understand why these values are important and willingly follow them. Consequently, pupils behave exceptionally well in class, and they are kind and considerate to one another in the playground and around the school. However, you are far from complacent. With your governing body, you have devised an ambitious plan for your ‘journey to outstanding’. In particular, you aim to improve pupils’ outcomes so that they are consistently above national averages. You also rightly recognise the need to continue to increase rates of attendance, in particular those of disadvantaged pupils and those who have SEN and/or disabilities. Safeguarding is effective. Safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. There is a strong culture of safeguarding in the school. Checks on the suitability of all those who work or volunteer in the school are carried out rigorously. Staff and governors have undertaken comprehensive training in keeping pupils safe, including from radicalisation. Staff know that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. There are clear procedures in place for them to share any concerns they may have about a pupil. Records are detailed and of high quality. You are tenacious in ensuring that vulnerable pupils and their families receive timely and effective support from outside agencies. Pupils said that they feel safe and know how to keep themselves safe. They know whom to speak to if they are worried. You have put in place effective arrangements to ensure that pupils use the internet safely. Enthusiastic and well-trained ‘digital leaders’ advise their peers about online safety. Pupils said that their school is tolerant and welcoming. They reported no concerns about bullying. Older pupils look out for their younger schoolmates in the playground and trained ‘buddies’ ensure that any pupil who is on their own in the playground is befriended. Inspection findings At the start of the inspection, we agreed to look in particular at the following aspects of the school’s work: the effectiveness of safeguarding arrangements how well leaders have addressed the recommendation in the previous inspection report to improve further the quality of teaching how well the curriculum meets pupils’ needs, in particular disadvantaged pupils, those who have SEN and/or disabilities and the most able the effectiveness of leaders’ work to improve attendance how effectively governors fulfil their statutory responsibilities. Teaching across the school is consistently strong and improving because of the excellent arrangements in place to support and challenge teachers to do even better. Teachers make very good use of the opportunities provided by the wider partnership of schools to work with colleagues in other contexts, for example by moderating their assessment of pupils’ work. You also ensure that your teachers have time to plan together, watch each other teach and give each other advice. They value this support and know that they are held accountable for their pupils’ outcomes. You are rightly proud of the broad and balanced curriculum that you and your leadership team have put in place. Your subject leaders play an important role in developing the curriculum and ensuring that staff members have the training they need to teach it. Teachers use their strong subject knowledge to ask pupils probing questions and set them challenging tasks. Pupils relish having to think and work hard, and so they make strong progress. The curriculum for English and mathematics ensures that all pupils have a thorough grounding in the basics as well as frequent opportunities to tackle more demanding work. The science curriculum places a particular emphasis on encouraging pupils to use their research and reasoning skills. For example, Year 6 pupils enjoyed deducing key facts about fossilisation from the clues given to them. You make effective use of the sport premium to provide pupils with access to a wide range of sporting activities. Provisional outcomes for 2017 show that pupils made broadly average progress overall, while pupils’ attainment in reading, writing and mathematics combined was in line with the national average. However, you aim for pupils in your school to achieve outcomes that are consistently above national averages. Work in pupils’ books demonstrates that current pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, the most able and those who have SEN and/or disabilities, are making strong progress because tasks set are well matched to their needs. Overall rates of attendance have been slightly below the national average for primary schools for the last three years. The absence rates for disadvantaged pupils and those who have SEN and/or disabilities have been particularly high. However, you and your leadership team are relentless in your efforts to remove any barriers to pupils’ regular attendance. Equally, you do not shy away from more robust measures, for example issuing fixed-penalty notices when necessary. Pupils confirmed that attendance has a high priority in the school. They talked excitedly about ‘Attendance Ted’ and ‘Punctuality Pup’. There are clear signs that your tenacity is beginning to pay off. Rates of attendance so far this year are in line with national averages for primary schools. The gap between the attendance of disadvantaged pupils, those who have SEN and/or disabilities and all other pupils in the school is narrowing. In addition, the number of pupils who are persistently absent has halved in the last 12 months. Governors fulfil all their statutory responsibilities, including for safeguarding, diligently. An efficient committee structure enables governors to gain an accurate overview of all aspects of the school’s work. Governors check that additional funds for disadvantaged pupils and for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities help to improve outcomes for these pupils. Governors confirm what leaders tell them by visiting the school to see pupils and teachers at work. Governors give leaders their full support. They also provide leaders with strong challenge in their ambition to secure the best possible education for pupils. Succession planning is effective. For example, the recent change in chairing arrangements was handled very skilfully. Governors have a clear plan for their ‘journey to outstanding’, which rightly focuses on a small number of key priorities. Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that: the proportion of pupils reaching the expected and higher standards in reading, writing and mathematics exceeds national averages rates of attendance of all pupils improve, so that they at least match national averages, in particular those of disadvantaged pupils and those who have SEN and/or disabilities. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the director of education for the Diocese of Canterbury, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Kent. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website. Yours sincerely Gary Holden Her Majesty’s Inspector Information about the inspection During this inspection, I met with you and members of your senior leadership team to discuss the school’s self-evaluation and plans for improvement. I held discussions with middle leaders and governors, including the chair of the governing body. I also talked with a representative of the local authority and met informally with parents at the start of the day. Together, you and I observed learning in every year group. I met with a group of pupils to talk to them about their school. I reviewed a range of documents, including information about pupils’ progress and attainment. I also evaluated the school’s safeguarding arrangements. I considered 34 responses to the online pupil survey, 29 responses to the staff survey and 60 responses to Ofsted’s online parent questionnaire, Parent View, including 41 free-text comments.