The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Parents are overwhelmingly supportive of the school. Many of them went out of their way to explain the good support their children receive. Parents particularly value the care staff show for their children. They are also pleased with the great progress that pupils make and the excellent after-school clubs. Pupils say that their school is a special place where pupils take good care of one another. Younger pupils enjoy mixing with the older pupils. Older pupils say the school helps them to become independent. Pupils value the learning they experience and really enjoy the after-school clubs available to them. They say that ‘Teachers go the extra mile for us.’ They are happy at school and feel well looked after. You have a good understanding of the strengths of the school and the areas that need to improve. As a result, you have maintained and built on the strengths identified in the last inspection effectively. You have also successfully addressed the areas identified for improvement. For example, most pupils now make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics. In addition, many pupils now achieve exceptional rates of progress. You have rightly identified that some pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities do not make the same good progress as other pupils. Your current work to develop the way that these pupils are supported is well timed. Improvements to the quality of teaching have been successful. As a result, more of the most able pupils reach the higher standards than in the past. The proportion of pupils in Year 6 who reach the higher levels in reading, writing and mathematics is much higher than the national average. As we discussed, it is now important that pupils are able to make this same great progress in all subjects in the curriculum. Safeguarding is effective. The safety and well-being of pupils is a high priority at Broughton. Leaders have ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and records are detailed and of high quality. Leaders act swiftly when necessary and liaise well with other agencies. Parents are confident that their children are safe and well looked after. Pupils feel safe and recognise that staff take good care of them. Bullying and unkindness are very rare. Pupils report that staff listen to them and deal with their concerns quickly. All staff who responded to the questionnaire said that pupils are safe in the school. Leaders and governors have a good understanding of the issues that face their pupils. The parents of pupils with additional needs highly praise the support both they and their children receive. They say that the headteacher takes the time to listen to them. A good example of this practice is the consistently high quality of care given to pupils in the school with medical needs. Inspection findings At the start of the inspection, we agreed to look in particular at the following aspects of the school’s work: – the effectiveness of safeguarding arrangements – how well leaders have addressed the recommendations of the previous inspection – how effectively leaders ensure that the teaching of mathematics enables all pupils to make good progress – how effectively the school promotes good attendance for all pupils. Since the last inspection, leaders have increased their expectations of the progress that all pupils should make. They have improved their approach to tracking progress. The teaching of the basic skills of reading, writing and mathematics has also improved. As a result, many pupils make more progress than is expected for their age. This high achievement is well established in English as a result of the improvements to the teaching of phonics (letters and the sounds they represent). Changes to the teaching of mathematics have led to improved outcomes across the school. Teachers make sure that pupils’ basic number skills are very secure. They also ensure that pupils can explain how they have solved a problem. As a result, pupils have a better understanding of mathematics and make more progress during lessons. We discussed the need to ensure that expectations and teaching are equally consistent across the curriculum. Governance is strong. Governors have a good understanding of the school and the quality of teaching on offer. They are ambitious for the pupils in the school and strongly supportive of the leadership team. They monitor the actions leaders take to improve the school. However, governors are not monitoring the progress of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities closely enough. Consequently, they cannot hold leaders to account so that all pupils make the rapid progress that they should. Rates of attendance are higher than average and persistent absence is lower than the national rates. Leaders monitor the attendance of all pupils carefully. They act effectively to tackle any poor attendance. Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that: the quality of teaching, learning and assessment is consistently high across all curriculum subjects, so that pupils can achieve well in all curriculum areas they use the tracking information of pupils’ learning from their starting points to evaluate the impact of teaching over time for those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. 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 Phil Minns Her Majesty’s Inspector Information about the inspection During this inspection I met with you to discuss a range of issues, including pupils’ progress and attendance. Together, you and I visited all classrooms and saw pupils at their work. I spoke to parents at the start of the day and met with a small group of pupils to gather their views. I observed the behaviour of pupils at breaktimes and spoke to them about the school. I met with three members of the governing body and spoke to a representative from the local authority. I reviewed school documentation, including the school’s policies and procedures for safeguarding. I took account of 48 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, including 47 written comments. I also considered nine responses to Ofsted’s staff survey.