The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You are ambitious for the pupils and work hard to provide a well-rounded education in a very caring school. You are open and honest about progress since the last inspection. Although you have addressed the issues raised by the last inspection, you acknowledge that progress with spelling was slow. Both leaders and governors need to more closely monitor the progress of improvement activities to ensure that they deliver rapid improvement for pupils. Pupils enjoy their time at school. They feel safe and well looked after and their parents and carers agree. Pupils enjoy their lessons and say that work is usually challenging, especially in writing and mathematics. Pupils enjoy their breaktimes and say that teachers are very reliable and quickly tackle any bullying that takes place. Staff say that pupils are safe and that behaviour is consistently well managed. Staff are confident that the school deals with bullying effectively. Parents recognise and value the caring nature of the school. Many report on how well the school supports their children to do well in all areas of their work and life. These parents appreciate the broad and balanced curriculum on offer. Some parents feel that communication could be better, especially about their child’s progress at school. A few parents also said that the most able pupils didn’t always get the challenging work they needed. Since the last inspection, you have strengthened the teaching of phonics and spelling across the school. The introduction of a whole-school approach to phonics was well supported with training for teachers and teaching assistants. This ensured that staff had the subject knowledge they needed to deliver this subject effectively. As a result, standards in reading and writing are above average. The introduction of a consistent approach to the teaching of spelling, combined with regular assessments to see what pupils know and can do, has improved this aspect of pupils’ writing. Assessment information shows that pupils now make rapid progress from their starting points in spelling. Although this aspect of pupils’ writing has improved, it is not yet at the same good standard as pupils’ use of punctuation and grammar. Leaders are aware that, since the last inspection, standards in mathematics have dipped. Although this has now been addressed, it is vital that leaders and governors ensure that outcomes in all subjects remain high. Safeguarding is effective. The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. Systems to ensure that staff and visitors receive appropriate checks are very thorough. The school has a very efficient approach to ensuring that all staff have the knowledge and training they need to keep pupils safe. A good example of this is the high level of well-trained first aiders in the school. The governing body ensures that all aspects of safeguarding and pupils’ welfare are secure. The safeguarding governor carries out regular checks to ensure that the culture of safeguarding is strong. Consequently, members of the governing body have a thorough understanding of this important aspect of the school. Lessons and assemblies are used effectively to develop pupils’ understanding of how to keep themselves safe. Teachers plan activities and events throughout the year to cover all aspects of safeguarding. Inspection findings The governing body is ambitious for pupils and proud of the supportive nature of the school. Governors regularly carry out a range of monitoring activities and have access to detailed information about the progress pupils are making. However, the governing body is not sharply focused on the weakest areas of the school’s performance. Consequently, governors are not able to hold leaders fully to account. Nor are they ensuring that development activities result in rapid improvement. Since the last inspection, the way that mathematics is planned, taught and assessed has changed twice. Leaders recognise that a false start with the first change slowed pupils’ progress. This subject is well led. Subject leaders demonstrate an enthusiasm for the subject and a detailed knowledge of how it is taught in the school. This strong leadership has ensured that teachers have been given the training and support they need to successfully take on new ways of working. Consequently, pupils are now making good progress from their starting points. The drive to raise attainment in mathematics has benefited all pupils, including disadvantaged pupils. Although the progress pupils make in this subject slowed, all pupils now make good progress from their starting points. A new leadership role has been created to further develop the effectiveness of the school’s work to support disadvantaged pupils. The support for pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities is improving. Leaders rightly identified that these pupils are not making as much progress as they could. Changes have been made to the way that teachers plan the additional support these pupils receive. These changes are intended to ensure that all interventions are effective and lead to rapid progress for pupils. However, the oversight of these plans by leaders is inconsistent. Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that: improvement activities sharply focus on the most important priorities there is an increasing emphasis on the progress that individual pupils make in lessons. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the director of education for the Diocese of Winchester, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Hampshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website. Yours sincerely Phil Minns Her Majesty’s Inspector Information about the inspection During this inspection I met with you and your deputy headteacher to discuss a range of issues. Together, we visited classrooms to observe lessons, and to look at pupils’ work. With the SENCo, I looked at aspects of the support for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. I spoke to parents at the start of the day and met with a group of pupils to gather their views. During breaktime, I observed the behaviour of pupils and spoke to them about the school. I reviewed school documentation, including the school’s policies and procedures for safeguarding. I took account of 88 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, including 49 written comments. I also considered 27 responses to Ofsted’s staff survey.