The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You, your staff and the governing body are passionate about your school; it is pivotal in the community and you are rightly proud of its caring and nurturing reputation. You are tenacious in ensuring that the pupils in your care are fully prepared for the future and leave Cottam ready for the next steps in their education. Governors work hard for their school. They are very effective at holding you to account and have sharp evaluation skills. They have a wide range of abilities and talents and are very committed to the role. As a result, governors have an honest and realistic view of the school and are supportive and challenging in equal measure. Children start school with skills that are typically expected for their age. They make good progress in the early years. When they leave Reception, most have skills that are at least expected for their age. Parents and carers are extremely appreciative of the start their children receive at the school. Children are given opportunities to read, write and use numbers in every area of learning, which leads to good progress across the curriculum. The environment is spacious and welcoming. Children can learn and explore in a variety of ways, including indoors and out, which allows them to benefit from a range of experiences. On the day of the inspection, they were visited by the fire service, which caused much excitement. Children were able to use vocabulary such as ‘The engine has big hoses and ladders to fight the fires.’ Results in national tests in Year 2 and Year 6 in 2017 were particularly pleasing. Pupils made good progress and achieved above the national average in reading, writing and mathematics in both key stages. The school’s current assessment information shows that the vast majority of pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, are making good progress in reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils access a wide range of sporting opportunities. The school benefits from taking part in a wide range of competitions locally. In addition, governors are keen to use the funding for sport to ensure that all pupils benefit from an active lifestyle. With this in mind, pupils can participate in activities such as fencing, judo and jujitsu, as well as more traditional sports such as football, netball and rugby. Parents are extremely happy with the school. They particularly value the happy atmosphere in the school and the good progress their children make. Typical comments included: ‘I am extremely proud that my child attends Cottam’ and ‘This is a fantastic school and I couldn’t praise it enough.’ Pupils have very positive attitudes to learning and are enthusiastic about their lessons. They attend well and enjoy coming to school. You are aware that some pupils in Year 6 find learning challenging, but good teaching and a robust behaviour policy have ensured that the vast majority of pupils are enjoying their learning. At the previous inspection, inspectors asked the school to improve leadership and management, in particular the work of middle leaders. Subject leaders are developing their roles and are now given many more opportunities to promote their subject. They are beginning to understand how to measure the standards in each subject. You were also asked to further improve teaching and assessment. You have visited other schools and provided professional development for all staff to develop their practice. As a result, teaching is good and assessments are accurate. For example, the training you received to improve the teaching and assessment of reading has resulted in pupils’ better comprehension skills. The local authority has offered a range of support over the last year, which you and your staff have valued. This support has been effective in helping to develop middle leadership and ensure effective assessment at key stage 1. You are keen to keep improving the school and acknowledge that more can be done to develop the curriculum in subjects beyond English and mathematics. You also have high aspirations for all members of the school community and would like all pupils, particularly the most able in upper key stage 2, to take greater pride in the way that they present their work.