The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Your passion, commitment, drive and vision have been fundamental to the rapid improvements that the school has made since your appointment in 2016. Working with your talented deputy headteacher, you have re-energised the school. Consequently, outcomes across the school are on an upward trend. Children are at the heart of everything that your school does. You and all your staff strive to ensure that all pupils achieve their very best. Since your appointment, you have made significant changes which have had a positive impact on pupils’ progress and attainment. For example, you have formalised the appraisal and performance management system for all staff, holding them more to account for pupils’ progress. Training is now much more focused on school priorities and is open to all staff. You have devised a tracking and assessment system and pupils’ progress is now monitored with greater rigour. All pupils make strong gains in their learning. In 2016, the progress that pupils made in writing at key stage 2, including those who are disadvantaged, was outstanding. This is a significant achievement of which you and your school should be very proud. Provisional results in 2017 show that progress in writing and mathematics is very strong at key stage 2, particularly for disadvantaged pupils. Although the progress in reading at key stage 2 is good, it is not as rapid as the progress that pupils make in writing and mathematics. Outcomes at key stage 1 are improving quickly. The proportion of pupils reaching the expected standards in reading, writing and mathematics is now above the national average. However, the proportion of children reaching the higher standards in all of these subjects is below the national average. You also acknowledge that disadvantaged pupils do not perform as well at key stage 1 as they do at key stage 2. Your effective and strong leadership is highly valued by staff. Your staff are a close-knit team and hold you in high regard. They are very proud of their school. Staff told me that you monitor the quality of their teaching with an eagle-eye. They really do appreciate the helpful and constructive feedback you give them to help them improve their practice. They also confirmed that any actions you set them to develop their teaching skills are diligently followed up. Good levels of support are given, by yourself and your staff, to those who are new to teaching. Your local authority adviser is equally resounding in her praise of you and your school. She described you as being ‘resilient with real ambition and leading the school on a path towards excellence’. Pupils are delightful and a credit to the school and their families. Overall, behaviour around the school is impeccable and pupils look really smart in their school uniform, which they wear with pride. Relationships at all levels are respectful. Many pupils were keen to speak to me. They talked avidly about their ‘kind and supportive teachers’. I was really impressed by how well pupils knew their targets and how keen they were to achieve them. They also told me how teachers’ marking helps them improve their work. Pupils talked to me in depth about their learning in subjects such as science, history and geography. Outdoor learning is particularly popular with all pupils. They relish the wonderful opportunities they have to make dens, boats and volcanoes from the natural materials found in the nearby woodland area. Pupils appreciate the wide range of clubs that are available after school for them to enjoy. It is also very clear to me that pupils really do have a voice in your school and contribute to decision-making, for example as elected members of the school council. No one can doubt the governors’ commitment to the school. They are regular visitors and are proud of the school’s achievements. They have a clear vision for the school and a good knowledge about the progress that different groups of pupils are making. Safeguarding duties are taken seriously. Governors act as a critical friend, offering good levels of support and challenge in equal measure. From our discussions, you recognise that roles of middle leaders of subjects such as science, history and geography are not fully embedded. You also acknowledge that some refinements need to be made to the school improvement plan. You have addressed most of the areas for improvement set at the last inspection. Pupils now have many more opportunities to use information and communication technology to support their learning and development. Levels of parental engagement have increased. Parents are given regular and detailed information about their children’s progress and attainment. Workshops on subjects such as phonics, reading and mathematics also equip parents with the knowledge and skills to help them develop their children’s learning at home. Inspection evidence shows that most parents are positive about all aspects of the school’s work.