The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You have brought a renewed impetus to the school to address the weaker areas of performance since your arrival in January 2018. Governors, working together with the local authority and diocese, were able to quickly broker your leadership. This ensured continuity of leadership, following the previous headteacher’s departure from the school. You have wasted no time in making changes within the school. Staff have responded quickly to become new leaders, not only teachers. You have provided them with opportunities to work alongside colleagues from St Michael’s CofE School, where you are also the headteacher, and the beginnings of a strong, mutual learning partnership are developing. You recognise that one of Evenwood’s strengths is the high quality of pastoral support and how effective staff are at nurturing pupils. The school’s mission, based on Christian values, is ‘to develop a motivated passion for learning that will enable each child to be the best they can be’. This statement is as true for staff as it is for pupils. At the last inspection, leaders were asked to review the school’s procedures for the teaching of phonics so that younger pupils became more confident readers. In recent years, the above average proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check indicates that, indeed, early reading gets off to a good start. However, in the last couple of years, standards in reading by the end of Year 2 have been below average. Leaders have now taken swift action to raise standards in reading by the end of Year 2. High-quality staff training and support from experienced practitioners is paying off. Opportunities for pupils to apply their phonics knowledge, both in the early years and in key stage 1, have been extended. Even so, making sure that pupils reach the expected standard in reading at the end of Year 2 remains an important next step. Leaders were also asked to improve the accuracy of pupils’ spelling at the last inspection. Leaders make sure that accuracy in spelling is a high priority, both at school and at home. Standards in spelling by the end of key stage 2 have improved. You and your leaders know, however, that there is still more work to do to improve pupils’ achievement in writing throughout the school. Pupils and parents are overwhelmingly positive about the school. Parents said that the school is for the community and that staff are always approachable, with relationships between the school being open and honest. The weekly celebration assembly provides a chance for parents to see learning in action and, as a result, parents are more able to support their children’s learning at home. The excellent standard of pupils’ behaviour noted at the time of the last inspection has been maintained. Pupils are extremely polite and friendly and talk openly about how communication and teamwork are as important in class as they are in the playground. They enjoy learning from their peers and thinking about what their next steps might be. Pupils were keen to talk about their new climbing frame. Its bespoke design incorporates parts of all their class castle names, and they hope to use this not only for play but also within their learning. Safeguarding is effective. The leadership team ensures that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and that training for staff and governors is up to date. The strong relationships between parents and school result in support being accessed in a timely manner so that families receive the most appropriate help as quickly as possible. The parent support adviser works tirelessly with families and a range of different agencies to support and protect children. Record-keeping is detailed and staff are very quick at noticing and reporting any subtle changes in pupils’ behaviour or mood that they observe. The safeguarding team is then prompt in assessing these changes and exploring the potential reasons, making referrals to the local authority where necessary. Leaders are determined to support parents every step of the way, ensuring that they access the most suitable service on offer. Governors use their skills and knowledge to support the school’s safeguarding work extremely well. They, along with the safeguarding team, disseminate their training to others to ensure that safeguarding has a high profile in school. Pupils say that bullying is rare and that they feel safe at school. Pupils trust adults to deal with anything that does happen and they say that this is done quickly and with minimal fuss.