The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the previous inspection. Your leadership of the school is characterised by a conviction that all members of the school community should aim high and do their best. You firmly believe that the school’s motto, ‘Be your best, nothing less’, should be lived by staff as well as pupils. As a result, you and your staff have nurtured a culture of high ambition in which pupils are encouraged to succeed. You have empowered other staff to lead in the school, which has increased the school’s capacity for improvement. This is because you believe that staff should be encouraged to take ownership of their work, to innovate and take risks. In so doing, they commit to their work with a high level of dedication and quickly develop expertise. In your words, staff are ‘hungry to develop their practice’. This has a positive impact on various areas of the school’s work. Staff genuinely care about the school in which they work. Consequently, since the previous inspection, the quality of teaching has improved. Teachers plan activities and provide work that is matched to the different needs of pupils. Lower-ability pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported effectively by teaching assistants and the use of tailored resources. The most able pupils, including the most able disadvantaged pupils, are prompted to tackle tasks of increasing difficulty which make greater demands upon their thinking. As a result, pupils of different abilities are making better progress. In 2016, by the time pupils left the school, their progress overall was significantly above average in writing. Because of the improving quality of teaching, pupils’ attainment has been consistently strong over time. Leaders recognise, however, that phonics achievement has been below average recently and have taken steps to address this. The work of leaders and governors has created a school culture in which pupils thrive. The school is an open, welcoming and attractive place. It consists of colourful, vibrant learning spaces which celebrate the fun and curiosity of learning. Pupils respond well to the teaching they receive, which is complemented by the wide range of enrichment activities provided, particularly the Thursday afternoon ‘Sparkletime’ sessions. During these sessions pupils can enjoy activities as diverse as singing, gardening, robot-making and forest school. In addition, pupils take advantage of further extra-curricular activities that take place at other times in the school day. Staff manage behaviour in such a way that most pupils understand the importance of mutual respect, courtesy and good order. As a result, they are polite and considerate to each other. Pupils enjoy coming to school, learning and engaging with their peers. One pupil I spoke to said, ‘You get a really good education.’ 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 improve phonics; and to ensure that different groups of pupils achieve to their full potential across the curriculum. We also considered the effectiveness of actions to improve attendance for different groups of pupils and whether safeguarding is effective. These lines of enquiry are considered below under ‘Safeguarding’ and ‘Inspection findings’. Safeguarding is effective. School leaders take safeguarding very seriously. You understand the importance of ensuring that pupils know how to manage risk and keep themselves safe. You ensure that pupils have a voice and feel comfortable in expressing their opinions and concerns. For example, every pupil is able to choose an ‘adult buddy’, a specific member of staff they can speak to if worried. Pupils I spoke to were able to talk in a confident, articulate way about how to stay safe online. For example, the pupils knew not to assume that people are necessarily who they say they are online. They also told me that they knew to speak to a member of staff if a visitor was observed in school without an identification lanyard. Pupils feel safe in school and those I spoke to commented that there was no bullying that they were aware of. Some pupils who responded to the pupils’ survey said there has been some bullying, but it was effectively dealt with. All parents who responded to the online survey, Parent View, agreed that their children were safe. You and the deputy safeguarding lead keep up-to-date, accurate and comprehensive records of any concerns reported by staff. Staff know the correct procedures to follow should they have concerns because they receive the appropriate training in a timely manner. You meet with staff on a weekly basis to discuss potential safeguarding concerns, so that they are alert to the ongoing importance of safeguarding. Referrals are carefully tracked to ensure that the most appropriate action is taken. Checks to ensure that staff are suitable to work with children are fit for purpose. Appropriate perimeter fencing, and gates which are locked at certain times in the school day, ensure that the school site is safe. Suitable risk assessments are in place, including those conducted on a daily basis by early years staff for the children playing or learning outside. Visitors are signed in appropriately and made aware of the school’s expectations of behaviour and conduct while on the school site. Inspection findings Governors and the school’s improvement adviser are providing a good level of challenge and support to school leaders. They are aware that phonics achievement is an area for development and are monitoring this area of work closely. Governors use various sources of information, such as achievement data, to ask probing questions of school leaders and to evaluate the responses. In 2016, by the time they left the school, disadvantaged pupils made progress across a range of subjects that was either in line with or better than the progress made by their peers nationally. This includes the most able disadvantaged pupils. In writing, the progress of disadvantaged pupils was significantly above average and in the top 10% of schools nationally. Pupils’ work indicates that these pupils are continuing to make strong progress. Boys and girls of different abilities currently in the school make similar good progress in their various subjects. The most able pupils are encouraged to aim high and challenge themselves by attempting the more difficult tasks on offer. These are presented in the form of ‘spicy’ and ‘volcanic’ tasks, that come from a range that includes ‘mild’ and ‘medium’ tasks for pupils who need to develop their confidence before moving on. The most able pupils enjoy their learning and make progress because these increasingly difficult tasks demand more of them and challenge their thinking. Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported by staff to make progress in their learning. The work and resources provided by staff are successfully designed to make the learning accessible and engaging. Pupils also benefit from helpful guidance and questioning provided by teaching assistants. As a consequence, pupils are keen to participate and advance their learning.