The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You, senior leaders and governors have a clear vision for the school, ‘The St Peters’ Way’, which promotes high expectations of pupils and their learning. You have continued to ensure that pupils achieve well, and although you were disappointed with the dip in standards for writing at key stage 2 in 2016, you and your leaders have acted swiftly to address this. Rapid improvements in writing are clearly noticeable because of the effective strategies you have introduced. However, you rightly acknowledge that these strategies for challenging pupils to reach higher standards need to be consistently and firmly embedded if pupils are to reach the standards they are capable of, especially for those pupils who are most able. A strong sense of ‘togetherness’ pervades the school. Relationships between staff, and between staff and pupils, are particularly strong and respectful. Teachers learn from each other and are receptive to new ideas. You, your leaders and your teachers continually look for ways of improving teaching and as a result the quality of teaching is improving. Mathematics is a real strength because of the very effective leadership of the subject and the challenging and engaging learning activities that pupils complete. Consequently pupils make exceptional progress in mathematics. The younger pupils in the school have a good understanding of the sounds letters make and are able to blend these sounds together to read simple words. However you rightly acknowledge that a minority of less able pupils are not making progress quickly enough, which is delaying their early reading skills. The previous inspection challenged you to improve teaching so that pupils apply their reading, writing and speaking skills to different subjects and that teachers are clear about what they expect pupils to achieve through better explanations. A strong feature of lessons is the collaboration and cooperative attitude pupils have towards each other. They share ideas and talk openly with others about what they are learning, particularly when problem solving in mathematics. You and your leaders have also ensured that standards in writing are maintained in all subjects, and inspection evidence supports this. Through your monitoring of teaching and subsequent support for teachers, explanations of what pupils are expected to learn are now clear and concise. During lessons pupils were able to explain precisely to me what they were attempting to achieve in their learning. Recommendations from the previous inspection also urged leaders to take a more thorough approach to checking the quality of teaching and to see that better use is made of assessment information in the early years. You and your leaders have adopted rigorous and highly effective procedures for monitoring teaching. Teachers are both supported and challenged to improve their practice and as a result goodquality teaching is evident throughout the school. Your recently appointed early years leader has developed very good systems for assessing children’s progress and identifying next steps in their learning. There is a strong sense of partnership between the early years staff and parents that results in accurate assessments of what children are achieving and what they need to learn next. Safeguarding is effective. You have ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and records are detailed and meticulously kept, including records of the checks on adults working in the school. Staff training is up to date and includes training on female genital mutilation, child sexual exploitation and recognising the signs of radicalisation and extremism. Staff are clear about the school’s systems and what to do if they have any concerns over children’s welfare. There are good links with external agencies including social services, the police and the local general practitioner. Clear channels for recording and following up any child protection issues are in place and you are tenacious in your determination to ensure pupils are safe and that nothing is left to chance. Parents overwhelmingly agree that their children are well cared for and pupils say they feel safe. Inspection findings You and your leaders are dynamic and driven by a strong desire to improve the quality of teaching and outcomes for pupils in the school. You are strongly supported by an effective governing body that share the same desire, and in unison you form a highly effective leadership team.