The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You lead the school with a calm resolve, and a determination to ensure the very best for every pupil. This is a school whose values are firmly rooted in its Christian ethos. You make sure that staff and pupils are well supported and treated with kindness and respect. Staff and governors share your high expectation that every pupil can succeed and share your vision for a ‘quality education for all children in a caring environment’. They are proud to be members of this school community and have confidence in your leadership. The caring, inclusive and family ethos is a thread running through all aspects of school life at Bishop Monkton Church of England Primary School. Pupils enjoy coming to school, they enjoy learning and their attendance is above average. Pupils behave well in and around the school and they develop into confident, polite, thoughtful and respectful individuals. Pupils all agree that the school is friendly and welcoming. As one pupil told me, ‘We welcome everyone at our school and treat everyone equally.’ During the inspection, we visited classes and saw pupils cooperating happily and sharing ideas so that they could learn together. The majority of parents and carers agree that the school provides a good standard of education. They appreciate the nurturing ethos that allows their children to thrive. One parent captured this by telling me, ‘This school is a family where every child is unique and cared for.’ Another parent commented that, ‘This school is fantastic. We are really pleased with the progress our children are making.’ You and other leaders have a clear and realistic understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for development. You ensure that information about pupils’ standards and progress is carefully analysed. You and your staff know every pupil individually and have an in-depth knowledge of their needs. As a result of regular discussions, you know which pupils are at risk of falling behind and what support is needed to help them progress. You have successfully tackled the areas for improvement identified at the last inspection. You have introduced new approaches to the teaching of spelling, which include a greater emphasis on pupils learning specific spelling patterns and then applying these in their writing. Pupils’ books show that older pupils routinely identify their own spelling mistakes and correct them independently. By the end of key stage 2, standards are above the national average as a result of pupils making good progress over time. However, you have rightly identified that the progress made by boys in reading and the most able pupils in mathematics has previously not been as strong as it could be. Although the progress of these pupils is now improving, you are aware that more work still needs to be done. Governance is strong. Governors bring a range of skills and experiences to their role and share the same passion and determination to excel. They take their duties seriously, hold leaders to account for the school’s performance and are closely involved in the life of the school. They achieve this by means of formal and informal visits, and by making sure that they access the appropriate governor training courses. Together, governors and leaders provide a strong sense of purpose and direction. Safeguarding is effective. The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. There is a strong culture of safeguarding in the school. Checks on the suitability of all those who work, or volunteer, in the school are carried out rigorously. Staff and governors have undertaken training in keeping pupils safe. Staff know that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. There are clear procedures in place for them to share any concerns they may have about a pupil. The caring relationships that have been established between staff and pupils mean that pupils feel safe. Pupils have confidence that adults in school will help them if they have a problem and they know that it will be dealt with quickly and effectively. Pupils told me that bullying very rarely happens in school. If incidents did occur, they are confident that an adult would deal with it for them, swiftly and successfully.