The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the previous inspection. Based on the evidence gathered during this short inspection, I am of the opinion that the school has demonstrated strong practice and marked improvement in specific areas. This may indicate that the school has improved significantly overall. Therefore, I am recommending that the school’s next inspection be a section 5 inspection. Since you took up post in September 2017, the senior leadership team has developed a strong team approach to school improvement. Together you have identified what the school needs to do to improve with a clear, sharp improvement plan and have supported staff, through quality professional development, to ensure that these improvements are being made. Teaching is good and pupils achieve well with their attainment in national tests at key stages 1 and 2 generally in line with national averages. Even so, not enough pupils exceed the expected standard to attain greater depth or the higher standard, especially in reading. This is because the very best teaching in the school, that consistently challenges pupils to excel, is not widespread. There is a positive culture of learning all around the school. Pupils are keen to do well and behave in a kind, considerate way towards each other. In every classroom we visited, pupils were engaged in their learning and fully committed to do their best. Behaviour around the school and in classrooms was exemplary; this meant that pupils could learn without disruption and make the most of the opportunities they are being given. The school is organised in a way that supports the needs of all pupils. Where pupils have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), staff provide a safe, calm environment for them to learn at the appropriate pace and degree of difficulty, which results in positive outcomes for these pupils. The school is clearly inclusive. Not only does it provide highly effective provision for pupils with hearing impairment (HI) but also it supports a large number of pupils with SEND to a high standard. The vast majority of parents and carers are very pleased with your school. Information gathered from Ofsted’s Parent View survey indicated that 96% would recommend the school to another parent out of 49 responses. One parent said they had ‘never seen a headteacher be so passionate about their work and the safety and well-being’ of her children. Another parent commented: ‘Amazing school, both my children have attended Warren Primary, the updates, help and the teachers have all been amazing. I would recommend this school to any parent.’ A very small number of parents raised concerns about exclusions and bullying. However, inspection evidence indicates that staff do everything they can to ensure that pupils’ needs are met and that they are safe and well looked after. Pupils informed me throughout the day how much they enjoy coming to school and how the teachers not only make learning fun but also really care for them. Governors know the school well. They understand the pressures that schools operate under but are very outward facing in looking into ways to help you and the school move forward. They have a clear understanding of how funding is best used to support pupils. Through their monitoring work and the information that leaders provide they are able to provide appropriate challenge to you and other leaders. Safeguarding is effective. All safeguarding requirements and responsibilities are carried out effectively. The school has three trained safeguarding leads, including yourself, who work closely together to ensure that the pupils are kept safe. Evidence showed, through the school’s online tracking system, that pupils who do need external agency support receive this in a timely manner and any referrals the school makes are recorded and monitored rigorously. All staff take accountability for pupils’ well-being. Staff provide effective individual support, which is underpinned by a strong pastoral, nurturing ethos. Any pupils who find school more of a challenge are given well-planned opportunities to talk through their problems and are immediately supported by teachers and learning support assistants. Although the school had a high number of fixed-period exclusions last year, this has fallen significantly since April 2018. Strategies such as the ‘lunchtime club’, ‘forest schools’ and effective use of your ‘green room’ are all serving to meet the needs of pupils with a variety of additional challenges. Inspection findings My first line of enquiry was about what actions had been taken to ensure that pupils leaving Year 1 have the appropriate phonics skills as they enter Year 2. Leaders quickly identified that following the disappointing outcomes from 2017 in the Year 1 phonics screening check, improvements needed to be made. Your phonics leader has worked effectively with staff and implemented strategic changes that have had a swift, positive impact on the quality of phonics teaching and subsequent outcomes for pupils. In 2018, 84% of Year 1 pupils met the expected standard in the screening check. Pupils are now taught in their year groups across Reception and Year 1; they have the same adult delivering sessions and regular monitoring enables teachers and learning support assistants to judge more effectively when children can be moved onto the next phase of their learning. In the phonics sessions we observed together, it was clear that staff have good subject knowledge and say sounds clearly and appropriately. Learning was interactive with one Year 1 pupil beautifully telling another pupil in role play to, ‘Stop talking, I’ll split you up!’ when learning how two-letter sounds can be read. In Reception, children were able to sound out single sounds confidently and use prior learning to help them to identify letter names and sounds. There was also evidence in Reception classes of children forming their letters effectively when writing as part of their phonics session. My second line of enquiry was focused on how leaders are ensuring that disadvantaged pupils make progress in line with non-disadvantaged pupils. Although the school has a relatively small number of disadvantaged pupils, it uses what it does receive in a careful, considered way to address each individual pupil’s barriers to learning. For example, funding is used to provide counselling, play therapy, peer mentors and specific language support as well as online learning resources and access to learning alongside Russell Group universities. This results in pupils making progress in line with non-disadvantaged pupils and attaining outcomes that at times are above other pupils nationally. Work in books clearly showed pupils making sustained strong progress with evidence in some Year 6 writing books of pupils moving towards greater depth. In Year 6 most disadvantaged pupils are making good progress. My third line of enquiry looked at how the curriculum is designed to support lower-attaining pupils. Through discussions with senior leaders, it is clear that teachers know their pupils well and are skilled at providing learning opportunities to meet the needs of all pupils, including those who need additional support. The deployment and impact of learning support assistants is very effective; they provide targeted support for lower-attaining pupils in a carefully planned way. Resources are adapted to support learning, with good examples of visual and practical resources used to make learning accessible for pupils. The use of high-quality texts in all year groups to drive the curriculum also supports the development of reading for lower-attaining pupils. By enabling these pupils to access more challenging texts, with support, they are able to develop their vocabulary and comprehension skills. This in turn, helps to support learning across the curriculum where links to the texts are made. My fourth line of enquiry was about how pupils with SEND access a high-quality curriculum that meets their needs. Throughout the inspection, I was able to spend time with pupils in the ‘Green Room’, where pupils with hearing impairment (HI) and others with complex learning needs are taught. I also observed HI pupils in mainstream classes and the wider curriculum. The school ensures that these pupils spend time learning in the HI base where they benefit from specialist teaching but also integrate in class with their peers. As well as high-quality support in class, the pupils with HI receive additional curriculum provision through forest schools teaching where they learn outdoors in a woodland area. This aspect of learning for pupils from the HI base is invaluable as it provides wonderful opportunities for pupils to manage their own risk, develop relationships and learn how to persevere. I was delighted to see pupils, with supervision, using an electric drill to make woodland decorations, making bird feeders which were hung in the trees and using a range of communication to help with digging and building activities. The curriculum is designed well and it is effective because the special educational needs coordinator (SENCo), the teacher in charge of the base and class teachers work in partnership to ensure that planned provision and delivery meet the needs of pupils with SEND. Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that: teaching strategies are developed across the school to challenge more pupils to attain at greater depth and/or the higher standard high-quality teaching and learning is extended across the whole school. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Thurrock. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website. Yours sincerely David Milligan Ofsted Inspector Information about the inspection During the inspection, I spoke with you, the deputy headteacher, SENCo, safeguarding leads, school’s business manager, phonics leader, governors, pupils, staff and a representative from the local authority. We observed learning and teaching in Reception, key stages 1 and 2, plus the HI base and forest school. I also heard pupils from Year 2, Year 6 and the HI base read. I looked at a range of documents including the self-evaluation and school development plan, single central register, pupils’ files and a sample of staff files. I looked at a range of books across the school, including a sample belonging to disadvantaged pupils. I scrutinised 49 responses from Parent View, 28 responses to the online staff questionnaire and 15 responses to the online pupil questionnaire.