Pupils feel well supported and well cared for at this school. This is because of the strong relationships that they have with staff. Pupils do their best to live up to staff’s high expectations. However, many pupils still struggle to achieve well in reading, writing and mathematics because they have gaps in their knowledge and understanding. Pupils are happy and safe. They enjoy coming to school. Pupils value their education. Their attendance is improving. Pupils enjoy the many trips and visits that enrich the curriculum. A number of pupils talked fondly about their visits to the Williamson Art Gallery and the Victoria Gallery and Museum. Year 6 pupils thoroughly enjoyed the residential visit to Colomendy. Pupils are polite and well mannered. They are well behaved in lessons and around the school. The pupils that we spoke to said that bullying is rare. If it does happen, it is dealt with quickly. Pupils learn the importance of respect for others. They develop a good understanding of the cultures that exist within and beyond their own community. Parents and carers appreciate the hard work of staff. One parent, expressing the views of others, said ‘The school is like a family.’ What does the school do well and what does it need to do better? The headteacher, senior leaders and governors have made many improvements at the school since the previous inspection. The foundations for further change are securely in place. Even so, the quality of education that pupils receive, although improving, continues to require improvement. Pupils do not have the chance to achieve as well as they should. Too many pupils are still not attaining well enough in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6. Many pupils have gaps in their learning. Leaders have improved the curriculum. They have thought carefully about the knowledge that pupils will learn and the order in which they will learn it. However, the curriculum is very new. Leaders have not yet had time to check how well this supports pupils’ learning. The new curriculum is beginning to make a difference in some subjects. In geography, for example, pupils were able to describe the location of Birkenhead using the correct vocabulary. They said that their learning in the previous year helped them to be ready for the new learning. However, other pupils in the same year group were less sure about prior learning. They could not remember key facts. In some subjects, such as computing, pupils are not confident in knowing and using technical and subject-specific language.