The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Your ambition for all pupils and staff to feel valued is clearly reflected in the school’s vision statement: ‘To create a safe, happy, caring and inclusive school.’ You and your staff have created a culture of positive attitudes and relationships at all levels. The parents I met told me that Kingsfold is a ‘great school because the teaching is very good, and so is the behaviour of the children’. Parents believe that their children are making good progress. They commented on how happy their children are at school. It was a pleasure meeting the pupils, who clearly enjoy being at the school. Pupils appreciate their teachers, who make learning fun. Pupils are polite and show much respect towards their teachers and each other. In assembly, pupils listened attentively as you spoke to them. They discussed the responsibility of world leaders, then thought carefully about being leaders themselves and making good decisions for the wider community. The pupils I spoke to told me that they feel safe in school. They were adamant that everybody, regardless of their background or culture, would be welcome in their school. British values are taught effectively. Pupils talked with confidence about respect and tolerance of others. I was particularly impressed with the pride they have in their school. You are determined to improve pupils’ attendance so that it reaches at least the national average. The pupils know that good attendance matters. At the previous inspection a number of issues were raised which you and your staff have tackled well. As a result, the school has been successful in closing the achievement and progress gaps between boys and girls. This has been achieved because the quality of teaching has improved. We agreed that standards in 2016 were not as high as in previous years, especially in reading and phonics. However, when we looked closely at the data, it was clear that a variety of factors, particularly the mobility of pupils entering and leaving the school, had an impact on overall outcomes. Standards in phonics have improved and are now set to exceed the national average. Safeguarding is effective. Safeguarding procedures are robust and meet statutory requirements. All policies and procedures are updated regularly and are implemented effectively. All of your staff, including those responsible for safeguarding and staff recruitment, have completed appropriate training. They are aware of risks such as radicalisation and child sexual exploitation. The school site is safe and the identities of all visitors are checked. The school’s record of checks made on adults who work at the school meets current requirements. You monitor attendance closely and take appropriate action whenever pupils are absent. Children are taught about keeping themselves safe. I was particularly impressed by the school council, who voiced their opinions on issues such as bullying and explained the possible dangers posed by use of the internet. Inspection findings You have a very clear understanding of your school’s strengths and areas for development. Your ability to bring about positive change is indicated by the improvement in pupils’ phonics scores. School assessment information shows that pupils make good progress. Although the 2016 results suggested that some low-ability pupils did not do as well as others, you are working with your team to put in measures to ensure that all pupils achieve their potential. In particular, the improved leadership of provision for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities means that pupils are more effectively monitored and supported to make good progress. Governors are very supportive of all staff and have a clear vision for the school. They are relentless in their efforts to drive improvement, while making every effort to support the well-being of staff. They know the school and staff very well and are able to make useful contributions to areas of learning for the benefit of all pupils. You have a very supportive and dedicated staff team. Morale is high. The staff I met take great pride in their school. One comment typified their views well: ‘You get an experience here that would set you up for life. In this school you can make a massive difference to children’s lives.’ Subject leaders are passionate about their curriculum areas and work hard to update their skills and knowledge through ongoing professional development. They create resources which enrich pupils’ learning. In 2016 the scores pupils achieved in the Year 1 phonics screening check dipped. Inspection evidence shows that this decline is not symptomatic of a weakness in teaching. The teaching of phonics is well organised and systematic. This motivates pupils and ensures their good development of early reading skills. Adults’ enthusiasm is infectious and pupils very much enjoyed matching new sounds to words in the sessions we visited. In response to pupils making slower progress in reading in 2016 than is typically the case for the school, you have quickly introduced a number of initiatives to promote a strong reading culture. When I listened to readers I found that they enjoyed reading and mostly read with accuracy and fluency. The school has a very good provision to support pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. A complete review of the special educational needs provision has led to robust systems being put in place to monitor the individual needs of pupils. This has resulted in a marked improvement in levels of attainment and progress. The school enriches pupils’ lives with extra-curricular activities, such as school trips, a breakfast club and after-school clubs. Pupils are very enthusiastic about this provision and speak excitedly about the opportunities that the school provides. The progress that pupils make in writing is similar to that found nationally. However, pupils who enter the school at a lower level than average need to make more progress. The progress made by disadvantaged pupils is accelerating. The most able disadvantaged are now achieving at a similar level to others nationally. Attendance is a priority for the school. You and your staff are working very hard to improve overall attendance, as it has fallen below the national average. However, you have a wide number of initiatives which indicate that you have the capacity to secure attendance figures for the future. Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that they: embed recent improvements to teaching reading, so that older pupils build on their strong phonics skills and are able to make swifter progress across key stage 2 build on their current strategies to reduce pupils’ absence so that attendance levels continue to rise and match the national average. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Lancashire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website. Yours sincerely Leon Bernstein Ofsted Inspector Information about the inspection During the inspection I held meetings with you, your senior team, middle leaders, the special educational needs coordinator, four members of the governing body and a representative from the local authority. I also had informal discussions with a group of parents, staff and pupils from key stages 1 and 2. You accompanied me on a tour of the school and we visited classrooms to observe pupils’ learning. I also visited the breakfast club and watched part of a school assembly. I listened to pupils read and observed their behaviour during lessons and as they moved around the school. I reviewed a range of documentation, including the record of checks made on adults who work in the school, the school’s selfevaluation, the school improvement plan and records relating to the monitoring of teaching and learning. I also took account of the 36 responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire.