The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. The school is led with vision, drive and conviction. You, your senior team and all your staff are dedicated to ensuring that all pupils achieve well and improve their life chances. You know well the community you serve and are respected in turn. Parents remarked that: ‘St John’s is a fantastic community where the children learn not only academic subjects but also strategies to support their own well-being. St John’s holds a strong focus on inclusion and the children seem very respectful of other cultures, religions, race and ethnicity.’ This emphasis on equality is exemplified by the high profile of the ‘no outsiders’ policy around the school. It is embraced well by all adults and pupils. Staff work together as a team to support pupils’ learning throughout the school. They are motivated by the changes you are making to ensure that the curriculum is more relevant and interesting. They feel well supported and identified how you are working hard to improve their well-being by, for example, reducing the workload imposed by frequent assessment and marking. The teaching team is a close knit, supportive community in which every individual feels valued. Morale is high. You know your school well and you demonstrated an honest and accurate evaluation of the school’s strengths and areas in need of further work. Governors are fully supportive of your work and are equally adept at holding you to account. Since the inspection in 2014, they have become more actively involved in the everyday life of the school. They have a realistic understanding of what is being achieved and what still needs to be done. As a governing body, they are constantly looking at how to better themselves by ensuring that they access training to meet their needs and to make sure they are up to date with current practice. You are right to prioritise the development of leadership at all levels as part of your drive towards more corporate responsibility. To this end, the development of subject leaders is a key focus of your efforts. School leaders, at all levels, feel well supported and enfranchised. You acknowledge that this is still a work in progress and you continue to encourage initiatives involving both staff and pupils. For example, pupils are asked for their input as your subject leaders design a new curriculum. Equally, you supported initiatives to improve the teaching of phonics, with the resultant outcomes leaping to 93% of Year 1 pupils meeting the expected standard in 2018. A strong focus on reading over the last two years has led to recent improvement. You have used a range of imaginative approaches to develop pupils’ skills in, and their love of, reading across the school. Parents have been encouraged to attend workshops, reading awards have stimulated interest, reading slumber parties have roused curiosity and guided-reading methodology has been reviewed and altered. This effort has been worth it as progress has been stronger and attainment in reading in key stage 2 in 2018 rose above the national average. You have correctly identified that there is more work to be done to ensure that more pupils, across all classes, reach greater depth in their reading, writing and mathematics, especially disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The inclusive nature of your school means that you have a very high proportion of pupils with SEND. This is, in part, due to the school’s good reputation with parents and external agencies in the local area for effectively supporting pupils with SEND. Many of these pupils have behavioural issues. Generally, you deal well with the behaviour of these pupils using a range of strategies, including a therapy dog, which meet their individual needs and requirements. The greater majority of parents are complimentary about the school. Pupils I talked to, and those that completed the online survey, were equally positive about the school and stated how they felt part of ‘one happy family’. Since the last inspection, the school has seen a significant growth in numbers and has expanded from one-form to two-form entry. The school now occupies a split site. This initially caused some disruption. In addition, there have been some significant staffing changes. These changes have had a negative impact on how well you have gained the improvements needed as identified in the last inspection report. You were asked to improve challenge for the most able pupils. The progress and attainment of these pupils have improved but the level of challenge could be greater, especially in subjects such as science, history and geography. Poor attendance continues to be a thorny issue within the school. In particular, it continues to have a negative impact on outcomes for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND.