You and your leadership team have maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Your school has recently been through a controversial process of consolidating the two school bases onto one site in Capel. Throughout these changes, leaders and governors liaised closely with all stakeholders and, in spite of a number of challenges you encountered, you ensured that the consolidation was managed sensitively and effectively. You promoted strong teamwork during this transition and, as a result, your staff supported you fully. You have a clear vision for your school and you lead with strong conviction. Your much-smaller-than-average infant school is described by a parent as being, ‘a very important part of the village community’. Parents that I met, and those who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, were highly complimentary about the school and your leadership. They value the positive contribution you make. All parents who completed the questionnaire felt that their children are safe at school and taught well. The majority of parents said they would recommend the school to others. Pupils are happy at school, behave well and feel that they are challenged in their learning. They spoke with enthusiasm about their curriculum, particularly their topic about rainforests. During the inspection, I observed pupils in one class ‘boarding a virtual plane, bound for the Amazon’. During the ‘flight’, your staff transformed their classroom into an imaginary rainforest, including background noise of jungle wildlife. When the pupils landed, they became explorers, hunting for jungle critters, while your staff encouraged them to discuss and describe what they could see and hear. All pupils were fully immersed and absorbed in their learning. It is clear why pupils describe their school experiences as ‘fun’! All staff who completed Ofsted’s online survey are proud to work at the school and reflect your drive and determination to make the school the very best that it can be. One staff member commented that: ‘There is a real sense of community spirit at this school where all stakeholders work to achieve the best for our children. Our community continuously works harder every day to improve our small, village school in every way possible.’ School leaders have successfully maintained the many strengths identified in the previous inspection. Areas for improvement were identified surrounding inconsistencies in the quality of teaching and the pace in some lessons. You have provided your staff with high-quality professional development, including training from external providers, which has improved the quality of teaching and learning. As a result, pupils make good progress from their starting points, particularly in reading and mathematics. In 2016, outcomes in reading and mathematics were broadly in line with those found nationally. However, leaders rightly acknowledge that writing requires further improvement if pupils are to achieve as well in this area as they do in reading and mathematics. The previous inspection report also identified that not all staff were implementing the behaviour policy consistently. When you started at the school in 2014, you introduced a positive behaviour policy, which is now embedded in the school. Pupils are able to clearly articulate expectations for behaviour, and the vast majority of parents feel that the school makes sure that pupils are well behaved. During my visit to your school, I observed pupils behaving courteously towards their classmates and teachers, and applying themselves positively to their learning. Safeguarding is effective. School leaders and governors ensure that arrangements for safeguarding are fit for purpose, and that procedures and policies are clear and comprehensive. You value the relationship between staff and families. You and your team have a very good knowledge of each pupil. Your school works effectively with families and wider agencies to ensure that all pupils are safe and thrive in the school’s caring and nurturing environment. You ensure that all staff receive regular, high-quality training, which equips them with the skills and knowledge to keep children safe in school. When new staff and volunteers are recruited, all the statutory checks are undertaken and recorded in detail. A designated child protection governor regularly monitors that these records are kept in good order. Governors take their safeguarding responsibilities seriously and frequently attend training, including safer recruitment. Pupils talk confidently about how to keep themselves safe, including in relation to e-safety, fire safety and stranger danger. You monitor the attendance of pupils frequently and liaise with families and external agencies to promote the importance of attending school regularly. As a result, attendance is improving. Inspection findings During this inspection, I evaluated the achievement of pupils in writing in the early years and key stage 1; the consistency of achievement for boys, girls and disadvantaged pupils; and the degree of challenge for the most able pupils. Achievement of children in the early years has improved over the past years. In 2016, a high proportion of children reached the standards expected for their age. Jointly with you, we scrutinised a range of children’s learning journeys, which provided further evidence that children make good progress from their starting points in the early years. We also scrutinised pupils’ books and evaluated your tracking of pupils’ progress in key stage 1. Outcomes in writing in 2017 have greatly improved from 2016. However, your current plans rightly focus on further accelerating pupils’ progress in writing so that pupils’ achievement matches that of reading and mathematics. In some year groups, girls’ achievement is higher than boys’, and in other year groups it is the opposite. This is because, in this small school, where pupils have additional educational needs which impact on their individual achievement, this leads to a perceived imbalance in outcomes. However, you and your team monitor the progress of all groups regularly, and swift intervention is put into place to ensure that no pupil is allowed to fall behind. Careful consideration is given to the school’s curriculum to ensure that lessons are exciting and inspire pupils to learn. As a result, boys and girls make good progress from their various starting points. You and the leaders for English and mathematics have facilitated effective training for teachers which has supported them in providing challenging learning opportunities for pupils. As a result, pupils make good progress, particularly in reading and mathematics. Governors ensure that the pupil premium funding is allocated effectively to ensure that disadvantaged pupils make good progress from their starting points. Outcomes in reading and mathematics in 2017 have improved from 2016. Phonics outcomes have also improved over the past years and a high proportion of pupils in Year 1 achieved the expected standard for their age in 2016. Steps to strengthen the teaching of writing, with particular focus on spelling, grammar and punctuation in key stage 1, have already started to impact on achievement. However, leaders and governors rightly acknowledge that further focus is necessary in order to increase the proportion of pupils who meet the expected standards for their age in writing by the end of key stage 1. The most able pupils receive a good level of challenge in reading. Your English leader has modelled a new initiative effectively and has provided high-quality professional development for teachers. She regularly monitors the teaching of reading and works alongside her colleagues in a coaching capacity. As a result, the most able pupils make good progress in reading. Leaders rightly recognise, however, that a greater proportion of pupils should be reaching the higher standards for their age by the end of key stage 1 in writing and mathematics. Clear plans are in place to address this and, although improvements are already evident, leaders are accurate in ensuring that this sharp focus continues. Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that: the teaching of spelling, punctuation and grammar is securely embedded so that pupils’ progress accelerates and the proportion meeting age-related expectations in writing increases teachers challenge all pupils to enable a greater proportion to exceed the expectations for their age in writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 1. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the director of education for the Diocese of Guildford, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Surrey. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website. Yours sincerely Luisa Gould Ofsted Inspector Information about the inspection I met with you and a group of governors. I had a telephone conversation with a representative from the local authority. Together, you and I planned the key lines of enquiry for the inspection. Jointly, we visited all classes in the early years and key stage 1 and evaluated a range of pupils’ books in English and mathematics. We discussed progress information for current pupils and your evaluation of the school’s effectiveness. I considered 10 responses to the staff questionnaire and 47 responses to the online survey, Parent View. I also spoke to a number of parents at the start of the day. I talked to a group of pupils and considered 20 responses to the online pupil questionnaire. I analysed a range of the school’s documentation, including policies and procedures, and minutes from governing body meetings. I met with your bursar to evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding and scrutinised procedures for the vetting and recruitment of staff.