The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Although only in post for a few days, you are taking immediate actions that continue to build on the work of your absent headteacher. You and your staff have immense pride in the school. You have an unquestionable commitment to providing an environment in which the young people who attend feel safe and make good progress in their learning. Parents overwhelmingly support the school and recognise the positive impact of the high-quality teaching. This is typified by a comment received through Parent View: ‘I have nothing but praise for this school and every teacher, teaching assistant and partner to the school. I feel privileged that my son is getting everything he needs in such a stable establishment. All I can say is thank you for being a part of our family.’ Governors and staff share your high expectations and together you have addressed the areas for improvement identified at the last inspection. These related to the further development of assessment procedures and the effective use of teaching assistants to support pupils’ learning. There is increased frequency of more-focused assessment and recording of pupils’ attainment and social and emotional development. This ensures that you have detailed information about how well pupils are doing. However, you recognise that the evaluation of this information by leaders, including those leaders with subject responsibilities, needs further refinement to ensure that governors are kept up to date with the impact of your actions. Leaders’ actions since the last inspection, including additional staff training, have ensured that teaching assistants have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities. Consequently, they now work effectively alongside teachers to support pupils’ learning. You continue to work hard to ensure that pupils attend school as often as they can. However, you recognise that further work needs to be done to improve the attendance of some pupils. You and your staff have good relationships with pupils and make school a welcoming and safe place to learn. Pupils who spoke with inspectors value these relationships and have positive views of their school, teachers and teaching assistants. You provide appropriate support for pupils who are unable to attend school due to their complex needs, including home visits by therapists. You also ensure that teachers are in frequent contact with families. Some pupils have low rates of attendance recorded due to how the school records pupils’ attendance during transitional timetables. Safeguarding is effective. Leaders and governors have ensured that safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and are followed closely. Documentation relating to safeguarding and the welfare of pupils is kept meticulously. Statutory checks are carried out on the suitability of staff to work with children. Appropriate training ensures that staff have up-to-date knowledge of safeguarding and are vigilant about the potential risks that pupils may face. Staff share information with parents and appropriate authorities effectively to ensure pupils’ safety and well-being. Leaders follow up any absences rigorously to provide appropriate support to families. This includes providing opportunities for pupils to learn while they are unable to attend school. Inspection findings Leaders have a clear understanding of the strengths and areas for improvement in school because they know the staff and pupils well. They regularly monitor teaching and use this information to support the effective performance management of staff and detailed development planning. Your development of assessment and tracking systems for your school’s context has ensured that you have a clear understanding of the progress that pupils make over time. However, the depth and frequency of leaders’ evaluation of the progress that pupils make during the school year is at times more limited and sometimes lacks refinement. The appointment of new governors with educational and business expertise has strengthened the governing body since the last inspection. Governors know their school well because of the information that they receive from leaders and staff. They check the accuracy of information frequently through their regular visits to the school. Governors act quickly, alongside leaders, to address any concerns that they have. For example, their rapid and successful action following a hygiene audit of the school kitchen ensured that it scored highly at its most recent inspection by environmental health officials. The quality of teaching is a strength of the school. Teachers have high expectation of pupils from key stage 1 to the sixth form. They use questioning well to probe pupils’ understanding and to guide them to improve their knowledge and understanding. Tasks present appropriate levels of challenge and are well matched to individual pupils’ needs. This is particularly so in mathematics, where pupils rapidly grow in confidence and are able to apply their knowledge and understanding to solve multi-step mathematical problems.