The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Working alongside a supportive governing body and by using experience and skilful leadership, you have brought about improvements to teaching and learning. There is a tangible drive and a sense of urgency to provide high-quality learning opportunities which allow pupils to thrive. This ambition is shared by all staff. You have addressed issues of underperformance and have brought together a skilled and enthusiastic teaching team. You have raised your expectations of pupils’ outcomes and improved the quality of teaching, learning and assessment through good-quality professional development for staff and by sharing good practice with other schools. These improvements are now speeding up the rates of progress that pupils make in their learning. You keep a close eye on the quality of teaching, and your feedback to teachers links directly to focused school improvement planning and teacher appraisal. You have ensured that refinements to the tracking of pupils’ progress lead to an accurate analysis of their progress, and identify whether pupils are on course to reach the standard expected for their age. You acknowledge that some teachers do not always pitch work appropriately, and so some activities do not fully challenge and stretch pupils, particularly in independent writing across a range of subjects. Working in a small school, your teachers know each pupil very well and adapt their teaching skilfully to meet pupils’ needs. This is exemplified by the good work you do to support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Thorough planning, in consultation with parents, has ensured that pupils’ needs are well met, allowing them to thrive and make good progress from their starting points. It is also noticeable how kind and caring pupils are to one another. Governors have a good understanding of how well the school is doing. They come from a wide range of backgrounds and use their experience well to ask challenging and pertinent questions of leaders. Effective systems and procedures are in place that allow governors to read reports in good time prior to their meetings. This helps them to formulate key questions they wish to ask leaders. Governors recognise the need to keep a closer eye on how well pupils are progressing across the wider curriculum as well as making sure that the school’s plans clearly state how opportunities will be provided to challenge the most able pupils further. Pupils told me they enjoy coming to school and feel safe and this view supports my inspection findings; I observed happy, content and friendly faces throughout the day. Older pupils set a good example to their younger peers through their work as playground monitors and the leadership they provide via the school council. Consequently, pupils like coming to school and look forward to the varied and rich topics that your curriculum provides. Safeguarding is effective. Senior leaders, together with governors, ensure that safeguarding arrangements are always at the forefront of their thinking. Frequent child protection training for staff and governors ensures that all are knowledgeable and up to date in terms of the most recent legislation and guidance. Adults are highly vigilant and are clear about their duties regarding the welfare and protection of pupils. Concerns are logged and records are well maintained. External agencies are used to secure support and specialist advice for vulnerable pupils and families, where required. Pupils say that they feel safe and well looked after. They have complete faith that adults in school will listen to them if they are worried or would like to talk. Pupils do not feel that bullying is an issue. They are confident that any issues of poorer behaviour or mishaps in the playground will be dealt with fairly and firmly. The curriculum supports pupils well in maintaining their own safety, including keeping themselves safe online. Almost all parents state that their children are safe in school. The culture of keeping pupils safe and putting them at the heart of the inclusive, friendly school community is very evident. The school promotes pupils’ personal, social and emotional development very well, and pupils show high levels of respect for each other, their school and their local community. Inspection findings You are ambitious for all pupils at the school. Staff know pupils as individuals and pay close attention to the needs and capabilities of each child. This leads to highly positive relationships between staff and pupils.