The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You became executive headteacher in September 2017 when the school joined another local school to become a federation under one governing body. You have further strengthened leadership at Shobdon primary with the appointment of a head of school and a part-time inclusion manager. You and your staff are dedicated to meeting the needs of all pupils. Leaders ensure that pupils benefit from a broad and balanced curriculum that they find interesting and exciting. As a result, pupils are happy to come to school, where they enjoy learning. Your pupils behave very well. Parents are highly supportive of the work of the school. They are confident that their children are safe and well looked after. In addition, parents told me that their children are making good progress with their learning. Parents said that staff are very approachable and will take the time to listen to any concerns that they might have. One parent summed up the views of many others when he said, ‘I couldn’t be happier with the provision here.’ You understand the school’s strengths and areas for development, and your action plans reflect this. Pupils attain well in a range of subjects across the curriculum and, as a result, they are well prepared for the next stage of their education. You have high expectations of all pupils. Leaders have introduced a new approach to how they make checks on pupils’ progress. Over the last two years, most pupils made good progress in reading, writing and mathematics but some did not make as much progress as they could have done. Leaders now ensure that half-termly reviews of pupils’ progress identify any pupils at risk of falling behind, and leaders take action to provide additional support where it is needed. Leaders have successfully addressed the areas for improvement identified at the last inspection. Pupils have many opportunities to produce extended pieces of writing. Over the last two years, attainment at the end of key stage 2 in writing both at the expected standard and at greater depth has been above the national average. Leaders were also asked to improve the way teaching assistants were used to support pupils’ learning. Leaders ensure that teaching assistants are included in whole-school training, and in addition they have targets as part of the performance management cycle. Teaching assistants benefit from specific training to support any pupils who have additional needs, for example those who have specific learning difficulties. Leaders ensure that they provide feedback to teaching assistants about strengths and areas for improvement as part of half-termly checks on the quality of teaching and learning. Governors are very committed to the school. They played an effective part in the creation of the federation so that the transition was smooth for pupils, parents and staff. They know what is working well and what could be further improved. They provide appropriate challenge and support to leaders. They enjoy coming into school to find out for themselves about the quality of provision. They manage resources well so that the school benefits from being part of the federation. This includes provision of training to further improve the quality of teaching and learning and opportunities to share resources and to provide opportunities for staff to develop leadership skills. Safeguarding is effective. Leaders and governors ensure that safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. All staff understand that safeguarding pupils is a priority. You ensure that all staff are trained to identify signs of abuse and that they know exactly how to report any concerns they have. The staff I spoke to during the inspection said that they believed that pupils were safe in school. Child protection records are stored securely. They are well organised and contain relevant information. Governors understand their safeguarding responsibilities very well. They have up-todate training, including how to ensure the safe recruitment of staff. Pupils told me that they feel safe in school and they could explain why. They are confident that there would be an adult who could help them if they were worried about anything. Pupils told me that they learn how to stay safe, for example, when using the internet and when they are out in the local community either crossing roads or riding their bicycles. Pupils say that everyone behaves very well because the rules are clear. They have a good understanding of what bullying is and are adamant that it does not happen at Shobdon.