The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Since you became head of school in 2014, you have led a transformation in the school, underpinned by the four core values of responsibility, respect, compassion and courage. Ably guided by the executive headteacher, and with the enthusiastic support of your senior team, you have built a vibrant learning culture. Pupils behave well in class and around the school. They are proud of their school and are unfailingly polite and welcoming to visitors. Parents recognise the positive impact you have had on the school. Those I spoke to at the school gate were full of praise for your responsiveness to any concerns they have and for the warm, nurturing climate you have created. One parent who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, wrote, ‘I am so thrilled that my children are in such a fantastic and caring school.’ Staff are also highly supportive of the direction you have set for the school. One member of staff wrote, ‘I believe the school’s overall vision for how pupils learn and progress is a clear one that we are working hard to achieve.’ Since the school became an academy, you, your governing body and your senior team have taken effective action to improve further the quality of teaching, learning and assessment. Teachers benefit from training that is well targeted to their needs. They have frequent opportunities to work with colleagues in the other academy trust school. As a result, the teaching of reading, writing and mathematics is consistently strong in all year groups. Pupils receive precise feedback on how to improve their work, which they implement conscientiously. Teachers are also rigorously held to account for the progress their pupils make. Consequently, pupils’ outcomes at key stages 1 and 2 are in line with national averages and continue to improve. At the same time, you have developed the four core values and ensured that they are shared and understood by pupils and teachers alike. Pupils wear with pride the badges they earn for modelling these values in their work or conduct. Therefore, the school’s strong provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain. You and the executive headteacher are not complacent, however. You have set out ambitious plans to tackle any remaining areas of relative weakness in the school. You are taking effective action to ensure that phonics scores in Year 1 and outcomes in the early years foundation stage match national averages. You are also redoubling your efforts to ensure that all pupils attend well, in particular those in receipt of free school meals and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. In addition, you have plans in place to ensure that more pupils achieve high scores in national tests. Safeguarding is effective. You have established a strong culture of safeguarding at the school, which puts pupils’ welfare and well-being at the heart of all that you do. You ensure that the school is compliant with all current child protection requirements. Record-keeping is exemplary and all vetting checks on the suitability of staff and volunteers are carried out rigorously. Staff and governors benefit from regular safeguarding training and updates. In monthly ‘safeguarding scenarios’, staff discuss how they would respond in the event of a particular child protection concern. As a result, all staff understand their safeguarding responsibilities and know what to do if they are worried about a pupil. The designated leaders for safeguarding have received appropriate training. They work closely with staff and with external agencies to ensure that pupils and their families receive the support they need. Governors are assiduous in checking that records are up to date and that agreed policies are being followed. Pupils confirm that their teachers care for them well and that they can talk to their teachers if they have a problem. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe, for example when on a school trip or when using the internet. They say that while bullying occasionally happens, teachers deal with it promptly and firmly. Inspection findings At the start of the inspection, we agreed to look at the following aspects of the school’s work: the effectiveness of safeguarding arrangements how well girls, disadvantaged pupils, those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and the most able are doing in their learning across the school, in particular in phonics and in the early years foundation stage how well teaching meets pupils’ needs and prepares them for their next steps the impact of leaders’ actions to improve attendance and behaviour how effectively those responsible for governance fulfil their statutory responsibilities. You have accurately evaluated the strengths and areas of relative weakness in the school’s published results. At key stage 2, all pupils, including the most able, those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who are disadvantaged, achieved well. Their progress and attainment scores were in line with or better than national averages in all subjects. At key stage 1, overall outcomes matched national averages, but girls performed less well than boys. Pupils’ outcomes in phonics and the early years foundation stage were below those found nationally. With your leadership team, you have strengthened the teaching of phonics in key stage 1. In addition, leaders and teachers in the Reception class have benefited from closer cooperation with their colleagues in the partner trust school. Consequently, pupils currently in Year 1 are making good progress in their reading, while children in the Reception class are thriving in the language-rich environment that their teachers have created for them. Girls throughout the school are making strong progress as a result of teachers’ focus on their progress. You now aim for even more pupils to attain scores at greater depth in national tests. The academy-wide ‘achievement teams’, driven by your subject leaders, play an important role in monitoring and improving the quality of teaching, learning and assessment. Leaders provide regular, high-quality challenge and support to teachers. In addition, they track pupils’ progress meticulously, ensuring that any pupils who may have fallen behind benefit from effective interventions. Pupils enjoy the opportunities they have to select their learning tasks from a menu. Teachers guide them well in this to ensure appropriate challenge for all pupils. As a result, teaching continues to improve, and pupils in all year groups are well prepared for the next stage in their education. Overall attendance rates since September are broadly average for primary schools nationally. Pupils who attend regularly enjoy the awards they receive in assembly. However, you have correctly identified that a small number of pupils who are in receipt of free school meals or who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are absent too often. As a result of your effective work with their families, there are signs that the attendance of these pupils is beginning to improve. The local governing body works well with the academy’s trustees to ensure that all statutory responsibilities are discharged to a high standard, including for safeguarding. Governors have an accurate view of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. They oversee specific areas of the school improvement plan and draw on a range of information to evaluate the effectiveness of leaders’ actions, including reports prepared by the local authority. They monitor the school’s use of the pupil and sports premiums closely and provide robust challenge to leaders. Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that: the attendance of pupils who are in receipt of free school meals or who have special educational needs and/or disabilities continues to improve the proportion of children who achieve a good level of development by the end of their Reception Year matches or exceeds national averages an even higher proportion of pupils achieve outcomes at greater depth in national tests. I am copying this letter to the chair of the multi-academy trust, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for West Sussex. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website. Yours sincerely Gary Holden Her Majesty’s Inspector Information about the inspection During the inspection, we carried out visits to all classes. I also held meetings with you, the executive headteacher and members of your leadership team to discuss pupils’ progress, safeguarding, behaviour and attendance. I met with the chair of the Grenestede Trust, the chair of the local governing body and another member of the local governing body. I also spoke on the telephone with the local authority improvement officer. I reviewed a wide range of documentation that you made available to me, including your self-evaluation form and school improvement plan. I also reviewed the school’s policies and procedures for safeguarding. I spoke with a group of pupils, and, alongside school leaders, reviewed a sample of pupils’ work. I took account of 38 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, including 35 free-text responses. I also considered 12 responses to the staff survey and 33 responses to the pupil survey.