The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. As the executive headteacher of the multi-academy trust (MAT), you are working successfully with directors and staff to secure the future of the school for the benefit of pupils and their families. The school has undergone significant leadership changes since the previous inspection through becoming part of a MAT in April 2014. Directors have recently taken steps to restructure the way they govern, in order to become more efficient with their time and hold the school more effectively to account. They have recently appointed a number of volunteers from the community, known as ‘partners in learning’, as part of their work to streamline governance and strengthen ways of gathering information about the work of the school. A partner in learning confirmed that this development has given him greater confidence in the way academic challenge is being managed by directors. Parents overall are very happy with the way the school has developed since becoming an academy. Comments taken from the online survey, Parent View, confirm that you and your staff are working effectively as a team for the benefit of all pupils. The school enjoys the confidence of the parent community. Many spoke of the school as ‘a welcoming and nurturing school with high expectations of behaviour and academic achievement’. A few parents raised concerns about the management of pupils’ behaviour at lunchtimes, while a few others said that they would like to have more detailed information about their children’s academic progress. However, those parents who spoke with me during my visit all agreed that you and your staff are extremely welcoming and supportive of families. Parents also agreed that any concerns, when they do occasionally arise, are addressed in a timely manner. They also said that staff are ‘great ambassadors for the school’. The strong community spirit and teamwork shown by your staff ensure that pupils who have transferred from other schools all settle quickly to learning. ‘The school has bent over backwards to make pupils feel welcome,’ said another parent. Safeguarding is effective. School leaders, including directors, have successfully established a strong culture of safeguarding in the school. Staff are regularly trained in ways to keep pupils safe. They have a very good knowledge of the pupils in their care and are particularly vigilant to spot any child who might be at risk from harm. Records show examples of how leaders take swift action to address safeguarding concerns. This has helped to keep children safe and to stop issues escalating unnecessarily. Experienced staff work closely with external agencies when needed to ensure that pupils are well looked after. All the pupils who spoke with me said that they felt safe in school at all times. Pupils know that there is an adult in the school to whom they can turn if anything is worrying them. The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are compliant with current regulations and are fit for purpose. Records kept are detailed and of high quality. Inspection findings You are working appropriately on the areas for improvement identified at the previous inspection. Older pupils are now provided with regular opportunities to write at length and for a range of purposes. Teachers have begun to work successfully with colleagues from the other four MAT schools to assess and moderate pupils’ work, in order to allow them to gain a more accurate knowledge of pupils’ writing standards and what they need to do to improve. Recent assessment data suggests that the most vulnerable pupils in school are making better progress in developing their literacy skills. However, more-able pupils are generally not achieving the higher levels they should be capable of in reading, writing and mathematics. Teachers now apply the principles of the school’s marking policy consistently across the school. Written feedback provided by teachers is typically supportive. A joint scrutiny of pupils’ books in classes confirmed that most pupils are now more aware of their learning objectives when writing. However, occasionally pupils do not follow up the suggestions for improvement provided by their teachers.