The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Since your appointment as headteacher in the spring term 2016, you have introduced a number of changes to the leadership of the school. You have developed the roles of the senior leaders and together you have worked effectively to accelerate progress in reading and writing. You have also focused on the role of middle leaders, which is securing improvements to teaching and pupils’ outcomes. You have introduced whole-school reading books based on the school’s values. These reading books have contributed to the higher proportion of pupils now achieving above-average standards in reading and writing in Year 2 and Year 6. Pupils told me they like this approach to reading because they enjoy sharing stories with the teacher and their classmates. You are now rightly focusing your attention on raising pupils’ achievement in mathematics, particularly in key stage 2. You have improved the leadership of mathematics to ensure that pupils across the school make good progress. Leaders have introduced changes to the way mathematics is taught, including additional help for targeted pupils. At the time of the last inspection, inspectors found that subject leaders did not check carefully enough the quality of teaching and pupils’ progress. You have addressed this by making sure that all leaders check regularly how teachers help pupils to make progress. The information collected is used to assess the impact of teaching on pupils’ outcomes in reading, writing, mathematics and the wider curriculum. Inspectors, in 2013, also found that pupils did not have enough opportunities to develop their problem-solving and investigation skills in key stage 2 and that there was insufficient challenge, especially for the most able pupils. Since your appointment as headteacher, you have taken action to drive improvements in all subjects. The changes you have made to science, mathematics and the school’s ‘discovery curriculum’ are giving pupils the opportunity to practise these skills. You have made sure that Penwortham Primary School is a safe and welcoming place where pupils are happy and enjoy learning. Pupils speak enthusiastically about the initiatives and activities available to them. They are able to talk about the school’s values and how they influence everything. Pupils believe that staff expect them to work hard and do their best. They say that teachers encourage them to ‘have a go’ but help them when work is really difficult. Pupils say playtimes are fun because the adults keep them safe. They enjoy reading and the shared reading initiative helps them when writing. They like the discovery curriculum because it encourages them to learn about new things. One pupil said, ‘Maths weeks are awesome because we are able to solve difficult challenges.’ Pottery, art and sport are enjoyed by pupils. You ensure that pupils learn about life in modern Britain. They learn about the democratic process though election of the school council representatives. They say they are able to discuss their views with school leaders and some of their suggestions have been put into action. Pupils speak knowledgeably about the recent general government election. This is because ‘mock elections’ were held in the school. Pupils enjoyed being part of the school election process and said they had a better understanding of how the country is led. An overwhelming majority of parents are positive about the school. One parent said, ‘I am impressed by the sense of learning and community in this school.’ Parents who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, confirmed that their children are happy and safe at school. Parents appreciate the school’s values and say these help their children grow in confidence. They say the school’s procedures for pupils with medical needs enable their children to take part fully in the curriculum. Parents like the school’s communication with families, especially the online learning journey for children in Nursery and Reception classes. Safeguarding is effective. You have ensured that there is a strong culture of safeguarding in the school. The leadership team makes sure that safeguarding arrangements are effective and records are detailed and of high quality. Any concern about the safety of pupils is followed up quickly and thoroughly. Staff and governors receive training about current safeguarding practice including the ‘Prevent’ duty, and how to recognise warning signs that a pupil may be at risk from female genital mutilation or child sexual exploitation. All staff know what they should do if they have any safeguarding concerns. Pupils understand the importance of e-safety. They say that the school teaches them what to do if they are bullied. Inspection findings At the start of the inspection, we agreed that the first key line of enquiry would be around mathematics. In 2017, assessments showed that Year 6 pupils made stronger progress in reading and writing than in mathematics over key stage 2. In 2017, attainment in mathematics was broadly in line with national averages. However, the most able pupils made less progress and attained less well in mathematics at the higher standard. You, your leaders and governors have accurately prioritised improving pupils’ mathematical knowledge, skills and understanding across the school including in the early years classes. You have introduced ‘mastery mathematics’ to raise standards. Teachers now accurately assess pupils’ progress and attainment in mathematics, and plan work that is typically demanding for pupils’ abilities. The most able pupils are given opportunities to deepen their learning. Additional adults support and enable pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities to make progress. Pupils benefit from additional teaching sessions because these help them develop mathematical confidence. As a result, pupils are now more confident in explaining and reasoning using mathematical processes. Their work shows that they are making progress and have a better understanding of mathematics. The second key line of enquiry focused on how leaders support disadvantaged pupils so that their progress and attainment are the same as those of all pupils nationally. You have initiated many strategies to support disadvantaged pupils. After-school sessions to support reading, writing and mathematics have helped pupils make progress. The breakfast club ensures that pupils have something to eat before the school day and during this time pupils have opportunities to read with an adult. You have employed extra staff to support pupils. Any pupils at risk of falling behind in their learning are identified quickly and given additional support to help them catch up. They attend sessions tailored to their needs to help them with their reading, writing and mathematics. You are aware that you need to introduce new approaches to measuring the success of these initiatives. The final line of enquiry focused on pupils’ attendance. In 2016, attendance rates for all pupils were slightly below the national average. However, the attendance of disadvantaged pupils, those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and boys was well below the national averages. You have taken steps to improve attendance, which have ensured that the attendance of all pupils is now broadly in line with the national average. However, you acknowledge that the absence of disadvantaged pupils is still higher than that of pupils nationally. You are working hard to improve the attendance of this group. You and your staff celebrate good attendance and reward pupils who come to school every day. This helps parents and pupils to become more aware of the importance of attending school regularly. Next steps for the school Leaders and governors should ensure that: pupils’ outcomes in mathematics are as strong as in reading and writing leaders assess the effectiveness of initiatives to support disadvantaged 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 Wandsworth. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website. Yours sincerely Frances Hawkes Ofsted Inspector Information about the inspection During the inspection, we met with you and the senior leadership team, and with middle leaders. I met with three governors and had a telephone conversation with the local authority link inspector. We visited classes from Nursery to Year 6 with you and other members of the senior leadership team to observe teaching and look at pupils’ work. We spoke to pupils in lessons and also met a group of pupils from Year 2 to Year 6. We looked at pupils’ writing, mathematics and topic books with middle leaders. We evaluated recent attendance information. Records about keeping pupils safe were evaluated. The team inspector spoke informally to parents at the beginning of the school day and also met with a group of parents. There were 127 responses to Parent View and one email to Ofsted. We took account of these, along with 63 responses from the pupil questionnaire and 33 responses from the staff questionnaire. I scrutinised documentation on the school’s website, the school’s self-evaluation and development plan, and current performance information.