The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. The school is extremely well led and managed. Leaders and governors are aspirational for pupils and committed to the continued improvement of the school. Pupils continue to make good progress. This includes the high proportions of pupils who are disadvantaged or who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, many of whom start at the school with knowledge and skills well below those typical for their age. You are well respected and have successfully promoted a ‘can-do’ ethos at the school, which staff and pupils have embraced. You have maintained the considerable strengths noted at the last inspection. Behaviour is particularly good. Pupils are happy, confident and proud of the school. They told me that they are taught to be kind and polite, saying that ‘we accept people for who they are and help each other’. Parents hold the school and its staff in high esteem. One parent echoed the comments of many and described how you have created ‘a positive, friendly environment where everyone respects one another’. Leaders welcome parents into school on ‘Family Fridays’. They also provide additional sessions and resources to help parents to support their children’s learning at home. All parents who responded to Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey, would recommend the school to others. You have successfully tackled the areas for improvement identified during the last inspection. Teachers provide interesting and stimulating learning opportunities through the creative curriculum. They make good use of the outside space on days such as ‘Forest Fridays’. Teachers and pupils have positive relationships. Pupils willingly follow their teacher’s instructions in lessons. Classrooms are attractive. Displays celebrate pupils’ work and provide them with helpful prompts and examples of how to make their work better. Pupils said that they enjoy learning because teachers make work fun and help them to do their best. Pupils also work well together to encourage each other’s learning. Leaders are passionate about providing an inclusive learning environment and removing any barriers to learning. They provide good care and support for vulnerable pupils. Leaders ensure that this support is personalised for each pupil and they carefully monitor the impact it has on pupils’ well-being. They provide the pupils who need it with additional nurturing and support to improve their emotional well-being and readiness for learning. Teachers have high expectations for what all pupils can achieve. Pupils make progress that is well above other pupils nationally in writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 2. Although the proportion of children who achieve a good level of development at the end of the Reception Year is just below the national average, these children make good progress from their starting points. This is because of the extra support which they are given to catch up. For example, a speech and language specialist supports children with their early communication skills. Leaders identified that pupils’ inference skills were not strong enough in reading. They adapted the curriculum to provide more opportunities for pupils to develop their stamina and fluency in reading. Teachers in all years consistently apply the whole-school approach to teaching reading. Each class works on a whole-class reading book. Teachers support pupils to develop their vocabulary by understanding the meaning of words within their context. You recognise, however, that too few pupils reach greater depth in reading. You have rightly made this a priority on your school development plan. Safeguarding is effective. You have ensured that safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. You are extremely knowledgeable and recognise the school’s fundamental role in protecting children. Records are detailed and of high quality. A recent audit confirmed the quality of the school’s procedures and practices. You used it to make further improvements to the care and protection of pupils. You have used pupil-friendly language to explain the risks of involvement in knives and substance misuse, for example. Leaders have also run information evenings for parents to help them protect their children. These help them understand better the potential local dangers. All the required checks on staff and volunteers are carried out and recorded carefully. Leaders, governors and staff undertake regular and up-to-date training on child protection and safeguarding issues. All staff have a good understanding of 2 their responsibilities to ensure children’s safety and well-being. The files you showed me indicate that staff make prompt referrals when they have any concerns. Leaders are tenacious in seeking and pursuing external support when needed. You and the staff team take great pride in knowing each pupil and their family well. This ensures prompt action, support and guidance should the need arise. Governors, in turn, support leaders when they have to deal with upsetting safeguarding cases. Pupils are confident that staff look after them well. Pupils carry ‘worry monsters’ so that they can share any concerns which they have. They told me that they feel very safe at school because ‘there is always someone you can talk to’. All of the parents who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire confirmed that their children feel safe. Pupils said that bullying is extremely rare. If it does happen, they have complete confidence in staff to deal with it quickly and effectively. Inspection findings You have ensured that leadership capacity is strong across the school. You are very well supported by senior and middle leaders. Leaders are accountable for the areas that they oversee. You work together effectively as a team to support whole-school improvement. The governing body is committed to developing the school further. The governors have a thorough knowledge and understanding of the school’s priorities for development. They understand the importance of raising pupils’ achievement. Governors challenge staff effectively to make sure they do this. You and other staff keep them well informed with the information they need. The governing body makes sure that the school’s use of extra funding has a positive impact on pupils’ well-being and progress. For example, pupil premium funding has been successfully used to provide a breakfast club for disadvantaged pupils. Leaders have made improving the achievement and attendance of disadvantaged pupils a whole-school priority. You are qualified as an external pupil premium reviewer. Disadvantaged pupils are identified early so that they can be given the right support to catch up. Leaders monitor their progress carefully to ensure that this support is working. As a result, disadvantaged pupils made faster progress in all subjects last year than in previous years. Their current books show that this progress has been sustained this year. You and other teachers carefully check pupils’ progress. You hold regular meetings with teachers to ensure that they meet each pupil’s needs. When pupils are falling behind, you provide additional support. The impact of this additional support is also checked carefully by teachers. The school’s tracking system is rigorous. It provides useful assessment information so that teachers can check pupils’ progress regularly. You work with the local authority and with other schools to ensure that teachers’ assessments are accurate. Two members of staff work as moderators for the local authority. Pupils develop good phonics skills and knowledge. Teachers and other staff build on pupils’ existing knowledge. The proportion of pupils who reach the expected standard in the phonics screening check is consistently above the national average. Pupils are confident and enthusiastic readers and are well prepared for 3 key stage 1. You have ensured that pupils have developed a love of reading and have access to a wide range of books. Pupils who read more than three times a week, outside of lessons, are rewarded with their choice of weekly ‘Golden Time’ activities. Pupils find this highly motivational. As a result, nearly all pupils now read widely and often. You recognise the importance of sport and music at the school. A talented staff team nurtures pupils’ talents. You use the pupil premium funding to ensure that disadvantaged pupils participate fully in music and sport. This includes funding their music lessons and examinations. Pupils appreciate the wider curriculum which you provide. Pupils say there is nothing they would change at the school. You explained clearly why a minority of pupils’ rates of persistent absence were higher than they should be in previous years. This was mainly due to serious medical reasons. Through publishing weekly attendance figures, celebrating good attendance and challenging absences promptly, leaders are taking all possible steps to maximise pupils’ attendance. Attendance and punctuality for all pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, have now improved. All pupils whom I spoke with clearly understand the importance of good attendance and find the weekly ‘class attendance race’ and certificates motivational in helping them to be in school. Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that: pupils continue to develop their inference skills so that more pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils, achieve greater depth in reading. I am copying this letter to the co-chairs of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Derby. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website. Yours sincerely Sally Smith Her Majesty’s Inspector Information about the inspection During the inspection, I held meetings with you, and other senior leaders and governors, including the co-chairs of the governing body. I also met with a group of pupils in key stage 2 to talk about their school experience. You and I visited a range of classes, examined pupils’ books and talked with pupils to evaluate the quality of their learning. In addition, I checked the school’s safeguarding arrangements and records, including the school’s record of recruitment checks on staff. I evaluated the school’s documentation about pupils’ achievement, planning for improvement and 4 attendance. I reviewed the minutes of meetings of the governing body and the most recent report on the school from the local authority. I took account of the 10 responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey, and the 10 responses from parents to Ofsted’s free-text service. I also considered the 13 responses to Ofsted’s online pupil survey. There were no responses to Ofsted’s online staff survey.