The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. All leaders, governors and staff are highly committed to pupils and their families. You have high expectations of pupils and for pupils, and this is clearly evident in your continued and relentless drive for success for all members of the school. Leaders, staff and pupils work happily together to create a calm, purposeful and harmonious atmosphere. The vast majority of parents feel that the school is very caring and say that teachers and leaders are ‘supportive, friendly and approachable’. There have been considerable changes in staffing since the last inspection. You have increased the number of teaching staff, improved leadership capacity and developed new roles to support pupils. The school is continuing to grow in size and popularity due to the strong links and trust you have developed with the local communities you serve. You have worked tirelessly to create a safe environment for pupils, where they enjoy their learning and are developing into confident young people, well equipped for life in modern Britain. Pupils told inspectors that behaviour in the school is good, that teachers are supportive and guide them well and that they feel like they ‘all get along like one family, with one voice’. Pupils are particularly proud of the charity work they do and display genuine care and compassion to those less fortunate than themselves. Staff are proud to work at Blackburn Central High school, commenting, ‘The school feels like a family and the pupils are happy. Leaders are approachable, yet have very high standards for both staff and pupils.’ You, senior leaders and governors have taken effective action to address the areas of improvement identified at the previous inspection, for example in raising outcomes for the most able pupils, particularly in English and in modern foreign languages. Leaders have also secured improvements to develop the independence of pupils. Pupils work well in lessons. High levels of engagement were evident across almost all lessons observed by inspectors. Pupils speak highly of the growth mindset training they receive in ‘Progress Time’ and say that it prepares them well for learning. In response to improving opportunities for teachers to share what works best in lessons with each other, you create regular opportunities for staff to share good practice through collaboration. Staff work in small groups, trialling new strategies to enable them to fully reflect on and improve their practice. A school improvement coach provides effective and bespoke professional development for staff at different stages in their career. All teaching staff are ambitious to improve and determined to deliver high-quality teaching for the benefit of pupils. In response to improving numeracy skills, you have appointed a leader of numeracy, created a working party and raised the profile of numeracy across the curriculum. Staff are developing common approaches to the teaching of numerical skills, particularly in the mathematics and science departments. Finally, you have implemented a marking policy which is used consistently by teachers. The vast majority of feedback is effective in moving pupils on in their learning. You and your governors have a very strong understanding of the school’s strengths and what needs to be improved further. During the inspection, we discussed the next steps for the school. First, you acknowledged that you will continue to improve attendance, especially for disadvantaged and White British pupils. Your focus on reducing persistent absence is having a positive impact, as rates of persistent absence have fallen considerably. We discussed the need to ensure that parents continue to support the school by not removing pupils during term-time for extended holidays. Second, you acknowledged the need to continue to improve the progress of pupils, particularly middle-ability pupils, so that the progress of these pupils is rapid and sustained across the curriculum. Safeguarding is effective. Leadership of safeguarding is very strong. There is a culture of safeguarding which runs throughout the school. All safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose; records are detailed and of high quality. Procedures for recruiting staff are robust and meet statutory requirements. Staff have completed all relevant and recent training and they know what to do if they have any concerns about pupils. Leaders liaise highly effectively with external agencies and are proactive in referring any concerns to the appropriate professionals. Leaders ensure that the school is responsive to meeting pupils’ needs and provide good support for all pupils, including those who are looked after. Leaders are proactive in ensuring that pupils are safe from all forms of extremism and radicalisation and monitor pupils closely to ensure that they stay safe from harm.