The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You and your head of learning lead the school with conviction and a sense of purpose. This is because you both know the school very well and are clear about its strengths and what needs to improve. It is also because you have an informed understanding of the culturally diverse community the school serves. The school’s values and ethos resonate strongly because you have fostered a culture that celebrates pupils’ different religious, ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Leaders and staff have high expectations of pupils, regardless of their circumstances or the difficulties they may face. Barriers to achievement are there to be overcome and staff do not accept that any child’s circumstances should prevent them from achieving all of which they are capable. Staff believe in the school’s mission to improve children’s lives through education. They are committed to providing pupils with the skills and knowledge they need to get on in life and build a positive, hopeful future. As your head of learning commented to me, ‘the children are the strength of the school.’ Governors are ambitious for staff and pupils. They, like you, are not content to rest on their laurels. Pupils at the school have consistently achieved well over time but governors drive leaders to aim for even greater heights. They too are aware of what needs improving in the school and hold leaders to account to ensure that issues are dealt with swiftly and effectively. You welcome challenge from governors and have provided training for them about how to ask pertinent questions of senior leaders. Governors bring a range of expertise and experience to the governing body, which has strengthened its capacity to hold leaders to account. Strong leadership has maintained the quality of teaching so that achievement throughout the school has been consistently strong over time, in different subjects. Teachers provide work that challenges pupils of different abilities. Pupils are prompted to reflect on their work and to identify mistakes. They are encouraged to consider how work could be improved and given opportunities to re-draft. In this way, pupils, including the many pupils who are disadvantaged, make strong progress in different subjects. Pupils engage well with their learning because they find the work stimulating and interesting. As a result, their behaviour is good. They follow instructions, pay avid attention to the teacher and work well with each other. Pupils are curious and ask questions to find out more. In many classes, a ‘buzz’ of learning is apparent as pupils actively, but calmly, set about their work with enthusiasm. One pupil I spoke to said, ‘I like learning more things.’ At the beginning of the inspection, we agreed on the key lines of enquiry to be considered during the day. These included establishing the effectiveness of actions taken to ensure that pupils achieve highly in all their subjects at key stage 2. We also considered the extent to which leaders have maintained the high level of pastoral care recognised in the last inspection and the effectiveness of actions to reduce absence. We also considered whether safeguarding is effective. These lines of enquiry are considered below under ‘Safeguarding’ and ‘Inspection findings’. Safeguarding is effective. Leaders have a firm grasp of all safeguarding and child protection matters. They ensure that all staff are vigilant and appropriately trained to keep children safe. Pupils are well known to designated officers and the wider staff. This means that staff are alert to any changes in pupils’ behaviour or presentation that may trigger concerns. Leaders prompt staff to share any concerns they have, however small they may appear to be, and in relation to any issue. As a result, communication is strong and information is passed to those who need it. This allows detailed, well-ordered and chronologically accurate records to be kept. Consequently, leaders are able to monitor ongoing cases closely and act in the most suitable way to resolve issues. A productive partnership with external agencies assists leaders in satisfactorily resolving cases. Leaders also work closely with parents to prevent issues from escalating and to build up trust between home and school. For example, leaders are clear that language difficulties cannot be a barrier to communication when a child’s welfare is at stake. Consequently, they are persistent in overcoming barriers such as these to ensure that they act in the child’s best interest.