The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Leaders and governors have fostered a strong sense of ambition and pride in the whole workforce. Staff feel that leaders encourage, challenge and support them to continually improve. The school’s Catholic ethos underpins its work. Leaders and governors are committed to ensuring that everyone is helped and encouraged to achieve their very best. The positive culture of the school is reflected in the exemplary behaviour of the children. The school’s constant drive for improvement has resulted in improved outcomes for pupils, particularly at key stage 2. Provisional test results for 2016 in key stage 2 are above national levels. Pupils are well prepared for secondary school and speak very highly of the support they receive. One pupil commented, ‘If I ever have a problem someone is there for me.’ St Joseph’s School is focused on developing the whole child. Staff want pupils to achieve well and feel cared for. Since the last inspection, leaders have provided training for staff to address the identified areas for improvement. For example, the curriculum has been redesigned with exciting themes to ensure that pupils are enthused and engaged. Work in displays around the school demonstrates the breadth of the new curriculum. Themes include ‘Peace and Reconciliation’ and ‘Birmingham’. Pupils in key stage 1 have created very imaginative skylines that celebrate the landmarks in their city. Leaders’ monitoring evidences that teachers apply the school’s marking policy consistently. Pupils are encouraged to respond to the feedback that they are given and have a better understanding of how they can improve. New assessment and tracking systems ensure that teachers have a good understanding of the progress of different groups of pupils. This information is also used by leaders to monitor and respond to any differences in achievement. Pupils that underachieve are provided with support to help them catch up. Outcomes in the Year 1 phonics check have improved and are now above national levels. This is as a result of effective staff training that is revisited annually. However, outcomes in key stage 1, though improving, are not yet in line with national levels. Fewer pupils reach the expected standard and achieve at a greater depth in reading and mathematics. The school’s own assessment information shows that pupils’ progress in key stage 1 was not as rapid as in key stage 2 during the last academic year. Safeguarding is effective. The leadership team has developed a culture of safeguarding. The school has established a safeguarding team that meets weekly to discuss any concerns and ensure that prompt action is taken. Pupils that I spoke to know this team well. One pupil commented, ‘I like the safeguarding team; it lets us know that people care.’ The team knows individual families well and is quick to engage outside agencies to provide any additional support that is required. This inter-agency work is a strength of the school. Staff and governors have received specific training to help them prevent any form of radicalisation or extremism. Detailed records are kept of attendance at training events. Leaders have responded quickly to new statutory guidance and governors are aware of their roles and responsibilities. Inspection findings The school’s good level of development in the early years foundation stage rose again last year and any differences between groups have diminished over time. The early years has been remodelled to improve the learning environment. Governors have also recruited new staff with experience in the early years, to further improve rates of progress in the Reception Year. Phonics is taught well across the school. Teachers and teaching assistants demonstrate strong subject knowledge. Pupils’ skills are regularly reviewed so that they can be quickly moved on to learning new sounds when they are ready. A high proportion of pupils passed the Year 1 phonics screening check in 2016. The school’s assessment information shows that rates of progress in key stage 1, particularly in reading, were not as rapid as those found in key stage 2 last year. I heard pupils read in Year 2 and observed the teaching of guided reading across key stage 2. Some pupils find the texts that they read quite easy and have the skills to access books that are more challenging.