The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You know your school well and are accurate in your judgement of where Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School is on its journey of improvement. The school has many strengths, including pupils’ good behaviour; leaders’ and staff’s commitment to the welfare and care of pupils and their families; and the strong progress pupils make in key stage 2. Pupils enter the Nursery and Reception classes with knowledge and skills below the standards typically expected for their age. From the early years and throughout the school, leaders have prioritised language acquisition and development as these are key barriers to learning. As a result of high-quality teaching and learning in each year group, pupils develop good language skills. This enables them to make good progress across key stage 2, particularly in reading and mathematics. Leaders, staff and governors have developed a warm and welcoming environment, with strong relationships between staff, pupils and their families. There is a real and tangible family ethos. Members of the school community appreciate your approach to establishing partnerships. Leaders are determined to raise aspirations for all pupils. As a result, the attainment of current pupils is continuing to improve and they are making good, and sometimes better, progress. Pupils are polite, respectful of each other’s opinions and viewpoints and are well mannered. They state that they enjoy lessons and appreciate the element of fun that teachers provide. They value the variety of extra-curricular activities, including residential trips, day visits and various sports clubs. The vast majority of parents feel that the school is very good at supporting their children and developing them academically. During discussions with me, parents typically commented that they are very pleased with their children’s progress. Some stated, ‘The staff are amazing.’ Parents spoke positively about the smooth transition into the Nursery class and on to high school. The majority of parents ensure that their children attend school regularly, with attendance rates above national averages for all groups of pupils. Although some parents expressed concerns about communication from the school, the majority of parents were delighted with this aspect and readily accept the invitations to join in and watch their children’s activities. Leaders and staff have taken effective action to address the areas for improvement identified at the last inspection. You were asked to improve teaching and learning so more pupils make outstanding progress and reach the higher standard and greater depth, particularly in key stage 1. You have increased the effectiveness of assessment to ensure that pupils receive prompt and additional support to overcome their identified misconceptions. You have also ensured greater consistency in the quality of teaching, particularly in English, through the recruitment of effective teachers. Published data for 2018 shows that the school’s consistently high rates of progress have been maintained at key stage 2, particularly in reading and mathematics. Proportions of Year 6 pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics in national tests have increased. However, in 2018 progress across key stage 2 in writing and the proportions of pupils attaining greater depth in writing were not as strong as those in reading and mathematics. Pupils attain well in reading, writing and mathematics in key stage 1, although not enough achieve greater depth in each of these subjects. Leaders have already taken steps to resolve these issues. For example, they have further improved the teaching of both reading and writing through effective language support to challenge pupils, including disadvantaged pupils. In mathematics, leaders have continued to raise aspirations and provide opportunities to challenge and deepen pupils’ thinking through problem-solving activities. These actions are beginning to bear fruit and are further improving the proportions of pupils attaining the higher outcomes in reading and mathematics at key stage 1. Inspectors also asked leaders and governors to develop the skills of the governing body in analysing national data further so that they can challenge school leaders even more effectively. Governors have developed their roles further since the last inspection. They use a wide range of evidence about the school’s work, including reports, visits to the school and presentations by staff, to gain information which enables them to hold leaders to account. As a result, they have an improved understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses.