The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Since you took up post in September 2018, you have worked collaboratively with the head of school improvement from the multiacademy trust to develop a clear and effective plan for school improvement. You have identified areas for development and swiftly put in place actions that are improving teaching and learning across the school. The school ethos of ‘let your light shine’ is demonstrated by staff and embraced by pupils. Pupils display wonderful relationships. They are supportive of each other and their behaviour is exemplary. In all classes I visited I saw pupils who were engaged in their learning and developing a strong desire to learn. For example, I asked some pupils which skills they had learned while making their puppets and their response was ‘collaboration and perseverance’. The vast majority of parents and carers are very pleased with the school. I received 53 responses through Ofsted’s Parent View survey, with 91% recommending the school to another parent. It is clear through parental comments that they feel their children are taught well, kept safe and that they receive valuable and useful information from the school. The trust and governors know the school well. They provide valuable support and ensure that Sproughton maintains its own identity while also benefiting from the opportunities that being part of the trust provides. The support that the school improvement adviser provides has enabled one of your teachers to become a ‘school to school’ support teacher due to the high-quality practice she delivers. Staff also benefit from opportunities to check their judgements about pupils’ learning with teachers in other schools, which supports their professional development. The school provides a well-balanced, broad curriculum, ensuring that pupils learn about different beliefs, cultures and religions. In the whole-school assembly, the pupils were taught about the Holocaust in an age-appropriate, sensitive way. Poignant questions were posed, and the pupils responded with considered, thoughtful answers. The school council were adamant that they would recommend their school to others and talked honestly about what good friends they have and how ‘everyone is friendly at our school’. Teaching is good and pupils’ attainment and progress are usually good in national tests at key stages 1 and 2. In 2018, the number of children attaining national standards in some areas of the school dropped. However, this was only for one year and small cohorts can have a significant effect on percentage outcomes. Due to the small numbers, these pupils could be easily identified, and leaders are striving to ensure that very best teaching in the school is consistent, so pupils are challenged appropriately. Safeguarding is effective. The school has a strong culture for keeping children safe. All safeguarding requirements are carried out effectively. The school has three trained safeguarding leaders. The designated safeguarding leader is well organised and committed to ensuring that all staff are trained regularly and that procedures are well established and implemented. All staff provide effective pastoral support for pupils and pupils themselves talked confidently about having someone to talk to should they need to. Pupils also talked confidently about how to stay safe online and that if there was ever a problem they knew that staff would deal with it quickly. Inspection findings My first line of enquiry was about what leaders are doing to ensure that most pupils reach the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check. Leaders have quickly identified the need to focus on phonics, as the number of children achieving the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check in 2018 dropped from 2017. The school has put in place an action plan to ensure that the delivery of phonics is rigorous and accurate and that pupils receive a consistent curriculum that enables them to develop their understanding of letters and sounds. Evidence in lessons showed that pupils were able to confidently blend sounds together and apply these skills to their reading. However, some groups of pupils are learning sounds which they already know. They are not being moved on swiftly and challenged further so that they make strong progress in reading and writing.