The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You have worked hard with your colleagues to create a school where pupils thrive and are happy. Staff and governors are extremely proud to belong to the school, which is a tribute to the very positive relationships that you have established. It is clear that you are all highly committed, and that morale is high. In this very inclusive learning environment, the school’s four values of ‘faith, honesty, perseverance and respect’ permeate all aspects of the school’s work. Parents and carers are overwhelmingly supportive and value what they referred to as the ‘family ethos’ and ‘safe atmosphere’ where children ‘have fun and work hard’. The majority of parents who responded to Ofsted’s survey, Parent View, enthused about the school and your leadership. Pupils also spoke very highly of St Clare’s Primary School. They know that staff ‘really care’ about them and make sure that there are ‘lots of exciting things to do’. Pupils appreciate the wide variety of extra-curricular activities on offer, as well as the trips and visitors to school that are organised to enrich their learning. Pupils’ behaviour in and around school is exemplary. They are polite and courteous to each other, staff and visitors. An area for improvement at the last inspection was to increase the opportunities for pupils to practise applying their mathematical skills. This has been addressed successfully. For the last two years, pupils made progress similar to the top 20% of all pupils nationally by the end of Year 6. Attainment has also been above average. The mathematics leader works collaboratively with other schools in the North West to provide strong leadership. Additional training has supported staff to help pupils to develop a deeper understanding of mathematics, so that they can use their knowledge and skills fluently. Work in pupils’ books and the school’s own assessments confirm that pupils continue to make good progress in mathematics. Leaders regularly monitor pupils’ work to make sure that the school’s policy for feedback to pupils is being consistently applied. You introduced a uniform approach to the teaching of phonics, which has improved pupils’ spelling. Pupils continue to practise spelling patterns using a personalised spelling book to help them to identify troublesome words. This resource has been particularly effective in key stage 1, where pupils are making strong progress in writing. Governors are well informed and have a clear overview of the school’s effectiveness. They bring a range of professional skills to support the leadership of the school. You provide them with accessible information about the progress that pupils make. Governors confirm this information through their regular visits to the school and through meetings with subject leaders. In addition, governors talk to pupils and parents regularly and seek their views through questionnaires. Consequently, governors are able to fully hold you and other leaders to account for your work. The school’s website is not fully compliant with statutory requirements. For example, it does not give clear information about what is taught in each subject and year group or the impact of pupil premium funding. Difficulties with the administration of the website have hampered the school’s ability to keep it up to date. Governors have already taken action to make sure that these issues are resolved, including recruiting a governor with expertise in this area. Safeguarding is effective. You have ensured that safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. Thorough checks are carried out on all staff prior to them taking up posts at the school. Staff training is up to date. There are well-established systems in place to keep pupils safe. Pupils are confident that adults in school will help them if they have a problem and that they will deal with it quickly. Pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe through the curriculum and also to take responsibility for the safety of each other. For example, older pupils are appointed as ‘junior safety officers’, leading assemblies on issues such as playground and road safety. Pupils are well versed in keeping safe online. They know how to recognise and respond to different types of bullying, although they said that this is very rare. Pupils are well prepared to deal with any incidents that might occur. Records viewed on inspection showed that where pupils are potentially vulnerable, swift action is taken to protect them. The appointment of a family support worker has further strengthened relationships with parents. This enables the school to offer early help to vulnerable pupils.