The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Your commitment to high standards is well understood and shared by staff at all levels. You, governors and staff are determined to inspire and motivate pupils to ‘become independent problem solvers who can cooperate and collaborate with others’. The ethos of the Jewish faith forms a platform from which all pupils, regardless of their faith, appreciate the need to be caring, responsible members of the school and wider community and share fundamental British values. Pupils are happy to come to school. They approach all learning with enthusiasm and are keen to make good progress. The following comments were typical of the responses to Ofsted’s parent survey: ‘King David’s School is a beacon of how inclusive, progressive and caring a school can be’; ‘the school copes brilliantly with children from a very diverse set of backgrounds, ethnicities and attitudes. The school brings everyone together for the real benefit of children’; and ‘we are very pleased that children from different faiths and backgrounds mix and play so well together’. Since the last inspection in May 2012, you revised and renewed all of the school’s systems to assess pupils’ progress. You worked closely with another school to identify the journey of knowledge and skills required for each age group in individual subjects. This approach helpfully enables teachers to track individual pupils’ progress and identify the next steps towards age-related standards. All staff have worked hard to communicate consistently high expectations of pupils so that classroom and playtime routines are firmly established. When the new national curriculum was introduced in 2014 you focused sharply on pupils’ progress and achievement in reading, writing and mathematics as priorities to ensure that pupils achieved high standards in each subject. Attendance has improved year on year but remains below the national average for 2016. You carefully track pupils’ attendance and staff swiftly seek reasons for any absence. You work closely with parents and families to reduce persistent absences. Children enjoy learning in Nursery and Reception. Planned topics engage their interest and they are keen to succeed. However, children’s progress in the early years is not ambitious enough to improve the proportion of children who achieve a good level of development by the end of the Reception Year. You are continuing to develop approaches to teaching a range of subjects and identify links in topics which inspire pupils’ interest. Nonetheless, subjects are not consistently approached in sufficient depth for pupils to fully develop their knowledge, skills and understanding. The deputy headteacher has successfully improved the progress rates of disadvantaged pupils across a range of classes and subjects. She has rightly identified the need to ensure that a growing proportion of disadvantaged pupils achieve as well as other pupils nationally. Safeguarding is effective. You, governors and staff are committed to safeguarding and promoting the safety and well-being of all pupils. Staff are suitably informed about safeguarding issues and regular training ensures that information is up to date and relevant. All new staff are trained as part of their induction so that they are fully aware of safeguarding roles, responsibilities and processes. Procedures following concerns are followed closely and leaders ensure that appropriate external agencies are involved wherever necessary. Thorough recruitment checks are conducted for all new staff and volunteers. Appropriate checks are made on visitors to assure their identity. Inspection findings The proportion of children achieving a good level of development by the end of Reception remains below the national average for 2016. A high proportion of children enter Nursery and Reception with knowledge and skills below those expected for their age. Children are speedily assessed on entry so that their individual learning needs are identified and supported. Teachers maintain close links with parents to ensure that children’s needs are understood and support remains relevant. Staff focus effectively on helping children to acquire the language skills necessary to learn key information and express their knowledge.