The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Since joining the school in June 2016, and despite a major flood which closed the school for half a term, you have successfully addressed the weaknesses you inherited. These were in the quality of learning, teaching and assessment, the early years provision and in the effectiveness of leadership and management. You have strengthened both senior and middle leadership teams by appointing new staff and developing the skills of middle leaders. You have accurately assessed the progress made towards the areas for improvement found at the last inspection. Your evaluation of the school’s performance confirmed that the school was underperforming. You and your staff quickly and successfully addressed the issues and now the school is on an upward trajectory. You have accurately identified what actions need to be taken to secure further and continuous improvement. The work in pupils’ books shows that these actions are beginning to have a significant impact on pupils’ learning and progress across all curriculum areas. You have developed a staff team which works hard and effectively to match pupils’ work to their needs and to improve pupils’ learning. Staff appreciate the impact and value of the work you have carried out. They recognise that there have been a lot of changes but as one member of staff said, ‘they have been for the better’. One represented the views of many when saying, ‘The school now has a definite focus and all staff have worked tremendously hard to get to where we are now.’ You have put in place an effective model for checking the work of staff. You have set high expectations for staff and pupils. As a result, staff are clear about their roles and responsibilities and pupils are making good progress from their starting points. This is contributing well to addressing the areas for development identified in the last inspection and to bringing about further improvement. An increasing number of pupils who have profound and multiple learning difficulties have recently joined the school. This has provided challenges for the school which have been addressed successfully. For example, you and other leaders have worked together to develop a curriculum which enables every pupil to learn at their own appropriate pace, to make progress and achieve success. Teachers use the facilities within the school, such as the hydrotherapy pool and sensory rooms, sensitively and thoughtfully to support pupils’ individual development and learning. However, changes to the curriculum are new and still need to be evaluated and, if necessary, adapted. Personal, social and emotional development is well catered for and is threaded throughout the curriculum. School leaders use the information and targets in the education, health and care plans to plan the curriculum and identify learning activities that meet the individual pupils’ needs, abilities and aptitudes. Lessons are delivered effectively by teachers and teaching assistants who know their pupils well and fully cater for their needs. Individual education and learning plans clearly identify pupils’ next steps in learning and what they should be learning in class. One pupil said, ‘I like the work I am given and the teachers are kind and caring.’ Pupils’ behaviour at all times is very good. This creates a positive and supportive learning environment in which pupils are always ready to try their best. Pupils told inspectors that behaviour in their school is always good. Staff use de-escalation techniques effectively and the strength of the very positive relationships between staff and pupils is shown in the marked decrease in the number of behaviour incidents since September. You have provided staff training on a range of special educational needs that have helped staff to identify pupils’ needs better. As a result, the support pupils receive is more suitable to their needs and helps them make better progress and to improve their behaviour and attitudes to learning. Pupils told inspectors that staff deal with the rare bullying incidents quickly and effectively. Parents are delighted with the quality of education provided for their children and the level of care from the staff. They feel their children’s often very complex needs are met extraordinarily well and that they are making very good progress towards clear objectives which are shared with them. One parent spoke of how her child has been ‘transformed’ after recently moving to the school. You and your senior leaders have worked successfully with several other schools to improve teaching and learning and to develop appropriate systems for assessment. As a result, the school’s assessments of pupils’ progress are accurate and teachers use this information to inform the planning and delivery of learning activities well.