The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Leaders have continued to maintain a sharp focus on improving outcomes for all pupils. Key areas for improvement have been identified within the school and leaders have taken prompt, decisive measures to effectively address them. More recently, leaders have overseen the restructuring of the inclusion team. Two full time trainee teachers of the deaf have been appointed to the resource base for deaf and hearing impaired pupils. You have taken effective action in developing a strong culture of inclusion at the school. As a result, the needs of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are well met. Current pupils are making better progress in reading. Although key groups of pupils still have ground to make up, you have clear plans in place to speed up their progress further. Disadvantaged pupils are also making strong progress in reading from their starting points. By key stage 2, a high proportion of disadvantaged pupils elicit a genuine enthusiasm for reading and have developed the necessary skills to critically analyse a range of reading genres. Leaders have ensured that all pupils have the opportunity to read high-quality texts regularly. Pupils read both for pleasure and for learning. As a result, they are immersed in reading on a daily basis. The areas for improvement identified at the time of the previous inspection are being successfully addressed. The report recommended that leaders improve the quality of teaching by making better use of assessment information to set specific individual learning targets so that pupils understand what to do to reach the next level. You have set up systems which allow you to measure the progress that different groups of pupils are making in reading, writing and mathematics. Leaders have used this information to ensure that pupils regularly receive personalised learning targets that promote strong progress. Safeguarding is effective. There is a strong culture of safeguarding at the school. Robust systems are in place to check the suitability of adults working within the school. Leaders have ensured that all members of staff and governors are regularly trained in different aspects of safeguarding. Leaders have worked closely with the local authority in establishing effective systems that promote the ‘Prevent’ duty. Members of staff know exactly how to respond to and report safeguarding concerns at a school level and to external agencies. Their knowledge and understanding of key safeguarding policies are robust. They articulate a clear message that everybody in the school is responsible for safeguarding. Pupils understand how to keep safe online. They clearly articulate the behaviours they should adhere to in order to minimise dangers to themselves in the digital world. Pupils have a thorough knowledge of external organisations they can turn to in reporting online concerns. As a result of the strong pastoral care offered by staff, pupils across all year groups were consistent in reporting how safe they feel. As one pupil put it, ‘There are so many trusted adults at the school.’ The designated governor for safeguarding is proactive in overseeing what the school does for its vulnerable pupils and in ensuring that safeguarding continues to be effective. Inspection findings In 2016, no pupils achieved the higher standard in writing at key stage 1. As a result, leaders have rightly prioritised challenging the most able pupils to excel in writing in key stage 1. In January 2017, you appointed an acting literacy leader who, along with other members of the senior leadership team, has provided focused support for teachers and implemented new teaching strategies for writing. Leaders have been effective in ensuring that these new strategies are having a clear impact on improving pupils’ outcomes in writing. Evidence in pupils’ literacy books demonstrates strong progress from their starting points. The most able pupils are being routinely challenged to reach their full potential. Pupils have a clear understanding of what they need to do in order to improve their writing further. However, work in the most able pupils’ books in other curriculum subjects shows that they do not always use opportunities to further develop and consolidate their skills in specific genres of writing. Leaders have correctly identified the progress of disadvantaged pupils in reading as a priority at key stage 2. Specifically, improving the number of pupils with middle attainment at key stage 1 who go on to achieve the higher standard at key stage 2. Leaders introduced new strategies for the teaching of reading across the school. The improved range of reading resources available to all pupils provides regular opportunities to read for pleasure. High-quality, challenging texts across different genres excite as well as motivate disadvantaged pupils in their reading. When listening to pupils from this group read, it is evident that they take on a challenging text with a variety of strategies at their disposal and have a desire to succeed. This is underpinned by a fundamental enjoyment of reading. The pupil premium grant is used effectively by leaders to support reading for the majority of disadvantaged pupils currently at the school, for example through small-group or individual reading sessions. This is having a positive impact on accelerating progress in the majority of cases. However, in some key stage 2 guided reading lessons pupils’ opportunities to read independently are limited due to adults reading and explaining texts for them. As a result, some pupils do not have sufficient opportunities to apply their developing reading and comprehension skills. Leaders have established systems to monitor attendance across the school. They are robust in tackling persistent absence for those pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Close partnerships with families and external agencies contribute successfully to this work. As a result, there has been a reduction in persistent absence for this group of pupils currently at the school. However, leaders’ procedures for monitoring persistent absence do not routinely analyse attendance rates for all groups of pupils. As a result, governors do not always receive sufficiently detailed or timely information on absence rates for different groups. This means they have not always challenged leaders incisively on whether their actions are reducing persistent absenteeism for all groups of pupils. Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that: in their science and topic work, pupils have opportunities to strengthen their writing skills in different genres rigorous and timely monitoring reduces persistent absence rates for all groups of pupils. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Tower Hamlets. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website. Yours sincerely David Robinson Ofsted Inspector Information about the inspection The inspector undertook visits to lessons, listened to pupils read, spoke with groups of pupils, spoke with groups of staff, reviewed school assessment information and looked at pupils’ books. The viewing of pupils’ books and observations in lessons were carried out alongside the headteacher and/or the deputy headteacher. Meetings were held with senior leaders, governors and a representative from the local authority. A range of documentation was scrutinised including information about outcomes for groups of pupils, policy documentation and information about attendance and safeguarding.