The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the previous inspection. You provide highly effective leadership and you have set a clear vision that has contributed to improving the school since the previous inspection. I was struck by the welcoming atmosphere of the school and the strong sense of care and nurture for all of your pupils. You, school leaders and governors are ambitious to achieve the best outcomes for every pupil. You know the school well. Your evaluation of the school is accurate, picking out the school’s many strengths while also identifying those areas that need further work. You have addressed the areas for improvement identified in the previous inspection report. At the previous inspection you were asked to ensure that pupils were always fully challenged. Regular checks by senior leaders have shown you that actions taken have made a positive difference to pupils’ learning. During my visits to classes, I observed that pupils had been given challenging tasks, well-matched to their needs. Teachers and teaching assistants were on hand to give guidance, support and further challenge. Pupils’ books demonstrate that they are provided with a range of demanding tasks and that they make good progress over time across a range of subjects. As a result, the quality of teaching has improved. At the previous inspection you were also asked to ensure that the good quality writing in pupils’ English books is replicated in other subjects. In order to develop writing across a wider range of subjects you have reorganised your curriculum. There are now well-planned opportunities provided for pupils to write at length in other subjects. Pupils’ books show good examples of writing in a range of subjects. For example, I read accounts of the Great Fire of London, part of a Year 2 history topic, where pupils drafted and edited their work to ensure it was of high quality. As a result of the actions you have taken, writing across a range of subjects has improved. You and your team have established a warm and supportive learning environment that is underpinned by the school’s clear Roman Catholic ethos. Staff, parents and carers have confidence and trust in the leadership of this school. Pupils are nurtured and encouraged to thrive. They develop as confident and successful learners who are keen to contribute to the school and wider community. Pupils learn to live out the school’s values of ‘love, learn, smile, believe’. Your staff team is committed to helping you to improve the school. They appreciate your support and feel that the school has continued to improve since the previous inspection. Members of staff are very positive about their work and staff morale is high. They appreciate the training and development opportunities that you provide, including the collaborative work with teachers in other schools. They say that it helps to develop them professionally. They also welcome the changes you have put in place which help them maintain a good work–life balance. Governors are ambitious for the school. They share your vision to provide a highquality education, firmly rooted in the school’s Christian values. Governors have a range of skills, which they keep up to date through regular training. They visit the school regularly and are involved in evaluating school improvements. Governors meet with subject leaders to discuss the work taking place in developing areas of the curriculum. They are keen for pupils’ progress to improve still further, including that of the most able pupils in mathematics. Pupils are polite and friendly. They show respect and get on well together. They have strong supportive relationships with teachers and teaching assistants. Their behaviour in class and around the school is consistently good, and this creates a calm and purposeful environment for learning. Pupils display positive attitudes to learning. These are evident from the enthusiasm shown by children in early years in their ‘fishing for numbers’ activity, to the children in key stage 2 using reasoning and problem-solving skills to calculate the values of unknown angles. Pupils were keen to tell me about all the things they like about life at St Edward’s. They spoke with enthusiasm about their topic work and their enjoyment of the wide range of extra-curricular activities and trips you provide for them. Pupils I spoke to understood the principles behind tolerance of other cultures and religions. They said what mattered was that everyone was treated with equal respect. They also understood the need for rules and laws to keep everyone safe. Pupils, however, showed less understanding of British values. They were unfamiliar with what the terminology, for example, ‘individual liberty’ or ‘democracy’ meant.