School leaders have maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Recently, there have been a number of changes in leadership. The previous headteacher left at the end of December 2016. The assistant headteacher became the acting headteacher from January until he left the school in July 2017. You took up your post as headteacher in September 2017. There is a new chair of governors. Throughout this period of change, governors’ strategic leadership steered the school to begin this new chapter successfully. Governors have maintained a strong and resolute commitment to continue to improve the school. Since taking up your post, you have had a positive impact on the school. You have a clear vision for the school which is shared with staff and governors. You are absolutely determined that every pupil is given the best opportunities to succeed at Braishfield. You are building on the school’s strengths but also identifying the most important aspects that require further development. The new school improvement plan is a helpful document which is easily accessible to staff, governors and parents. It clearly outlines the most important actions leaders need to take to improve the school further. You check on the quality of teaching regularly and have introduced an assessment system that supports teachers’ identification of pupils’ next steps in learning. Pupils now know what they need to do to progress. Pupils spoke positively about their target cards which help them to know how they are getting on. They also said that the targets help by making them challenge themselves to achieve even more. Pupils like the opportunities to respond to teachers’ comments and show teachers that they can improve their work. You have also introduced a more rigorous system for discussing pupils’ progress with the teacher and support staff for each class, to consider strategies to support pupils to make even better progress. You are rightly developing the roles of staff so that they can lead subjects and other areas of the school’s work effectively. This is an important aspect, as it is increasing the school’s capacity to improve through the development of its emerging leaders. The training opportunities provided for staff to enable them to develop effective leadership skills are proving to be successful. The overwhelming majority of parents who completed the online questionnaire, Parent View, are very positive about the school. Many parents added their free-text comments. One parent summed up the views of many by saying, ‘A fantastic school where all children are nurtured and encouraged to be the best they can be.’ Since the previous inspection, senior leaders have been successful in raising standards in writing by the end of Year 6. In 2017, almost all pupils achieved the expected standard in writing, and more than half of Year 6 pupils achieved a greater depth of understanding. However, you know there is more to be done for this area for improvement to be considered fully achieved. Standards in writing at the end of Year 2 in 2017 were below the national average and pupils’ current outcomes for writing, in all year groups, need to improve. In addition, the quality of pupils’ handwriting, spelling and punctuation needs to be a focus. Safeguarding is effective. School leaders have ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and records are detailed and of high quality. This is reinforced by the caring and nurturing environment which focuses on the well-being and safety of pupils. Staff are fully aware of their responsibilities to protect pupils and ensure that their practice is in line with current legislation. Pupils say that they feel safe and are taught how to keep themselves safe by learning how to express their opinions and make choices. They demonstrate a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe when using computers, and when they are out in the community, crossing roads and riding their bicycles. Pupils say that bullying does not exist in school. They showed a good understanding of different types of bullying and know what they need to do if they have a problem. Pupils feel listened to. They welcome the opportunity to raise issues through the ‘worry boxes’ and are confident that adults will deal with any issues that may arise. You have ensured that sufficient staff are trained at a higher level to fulfil the school’s responsibilities to keep pupils safe. You make sure that all staff are kept up to date with information about child protection and safeguarding. You have introduced more robust arrangements for the collection of pupils at the end of the school day. The governor with responsibility for safeguarding reviews the school’s practice and checks regularly that systems and procedures are effective. Inspection findings Children achieve well in the Reception Year. Attainment has been consistently above the national average for the last three years. Children enjoy the broad range of activities on offer to them both inside and outdoors. They demonstrated strong phonic knowledge and thoroughly enjoy using large chalks to write simple consonant-vowel-consonant words accurately on the playground. They are able to blend sounds together and successfully read and write simple words correctly. This strong start for children enables them to be prepared well for learning when they start Year 1. The effective teaching of phonics has ensured that standards achieved by pupils in the Year 1 phonics screening check have been above the national average for the last two years. In 2017, by the end of Year 2, all pupils had reached the expected standard in the phonics screening check. In 2017, outcomes for pupils at the end of Year 2 were mixed. Attainment in reading, at the expected standard and at greater depth, was well above the national average. Although a higher proportion than found nationally achieved a greater depth of understanding in writing, some pupils did not achieve the expected standard in writing. You know that there are times when teachers’ use of assessment in lessons does not pinpoint precisely what pupils need to do next in order to reach the standards of which they are capable. In mathematics, the proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard was above the national average, but no pupils achieved a greater depth of understanding. Senior leaders and governors are taking effective action to address this underachievement. They know that pupils need to be given opportunities to extend their mathematical knowledge and show a greater depth of understanding in mathematics. You have ensured that teachers are designing tasks more effectively, to enable pupils to demonstrate more secure mathematical skills through ‘prove it’ challenges. Pupils talk positively about these opportunities. Since starting in Year 3, the pupils who underachieved in writing are beginning to catch up. Achievement for pupils at the end of Year 6 was strong. In reading, writing, mathematics and English grammar, punctuation and spelling, attainment was above the national average at the expected standard and at the higher standard. Pupils’ progress was well above the national average in reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils are very well prepared for learning when they begin secondary school. Overall, teachers have high expectations of what pupils can achieve. However, there is some evidence to show that the quality of pupils’ presentation, handwriting and spelling is not consistently good in English, mathematics and in other subjects across the curriculum. Pupils have very positive attitudes to learning. They enjoy the range of activities provided for them during lessons. In English, older pupils were enthused by the story ‘Alex Rider Stormbreaker’ by Anthony Horowitz. They were particularly engaged as they crafted their own spy stories to read to younger pupils. They were provided with clear guidance on how to be a successful writer and were challenged to include a wide range of techniques in their writing to captivate their listeners. School leaders provide a wide range of additional opportunities for pupils to enrich their learning experiences. Pupils enjoy the opportunity to learn musical instruments such as the ukulele, guitar, violin and keyboard. They also relish the opportunity to take part in the annual Rock Challenge. Pupils spoke positively about the prospect of taking part in residential trips to broaden their horizons, such as their study of rivers in Wales. They appreciated learning about coasteering during their trip to Swanage, which also provided a useful opportunity to learn about keeping safe in water. Pupils are provided with many opportunities to carry out additional responsibilities. These include being a librarian, a play leader, a bronze ambassador for sports or a member of the school council. This makes a strong contribution to their personal development. Pupils learn about British values alongside the school’s values. They learn about tolerance and respect, and think about what they can do to support the needs of others within the community and further afield. Pupils take responsibility for raising funds for charities such as Macmillan and Children in Need. Their experiences of making cakes and inviting older people from the community to share in their coffee morning proved to be extremely successful. This had a positive impact on their own personal development and well-being. Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that: teachers’ skills in assessing pupils’ learning in lessons and over time are honed and perfected so that all teaching is as good as the best in the school teachers have consistently high expectations of pupils’ presentation, handwriting and spelling, and ensure that pupils’ writing skills are consistently strong across the curriculum. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Hampshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website. Yours sincerely Ann Henderson Her Majesty’s Inspector Information about the inspection I met with you, your English and mathematics leaders, staff, pupils, the chair of the governing body and four governors. I had a telephone conversation with a representative of the local authority. We visited all classes together to observe pupils’ learning. I looked at work in pupils’ books during these visits. I looked at the survey results from pupils, staff and parents, and considered the free-text comments that had been placed on Parent View. I considered the accuracy of your self-evaluation and looked at a range of other documentation, including information on pupils’ achievement, the school development plan and external reports. I checked the effectiveness of the school’s safeguarding arrangements.