The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You and your deputy, in partnership with a proactive governing body, have continued to develop the school and raise outcomes for the pupils in your care. All the staff I talked to, or who had completed the online questionnaire, were positive about the school and the improvements that you have initiated. Staff new to the school, or at the start of their teaching careers, felt well supported. You take the care of your staff seriously and are striving to ensure a sensible work-life balance. This is reflected in the positive Catholic ethos which permeates the school. This is a happy school with a positive culture. We discussed the changing context of the school and identified the variability between classes, with some cohorts having disproportionate numbers of disadvantaged pupils or those who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities. This has a particular impact on outcomes lower down the school. The number of disadvantaged pupils is below the national average. During these discussions, we agreed that aspects of the school website are not fully compliant with requirements. Pupils enjoy coming to school and are enthusiastic about their learning. Attendance continues to be good and is consistently above the national average. Pupils thrive in the happy, vibrant and nurturing environment that you have helped to create. They are confident and those I spoke to talked excitedly about their achievements and progress in reading, writing and mathematics, which have continued to rise. They particularly enjoy their outdoor learning experiences, which allow them to develop an understanding of the natural world, and encourage resilience and the ability to work collaboratively. Their attitudes also reflect the values of kindness, respect, humility and tolerance, which the school openly promotes. They are welcoming and inquisitive. The governors I spoke to know the school well. They talked with confidence about what the school does well. Governors have challenged senior leaders, for example, about the need to ensure greater depth to pupils’ learning. They have high ambitions for the school and offer good support to school leaders. They are active and are regularly seen by pupils and staff around the school. Their visits are focused and purposeful. Governors play a key role in working with staff and school leaders to shape school priorities. Most parents and carers who completed the online questionnaire were complimentary about the school, both in terms of academic achievement and nurture and care. In their eyes, the school provides ‘a combination of a caring and supportive environment for learning, which allows their children to feel safe in and do well’. Parents typically stated, ‘St Mary’s is a very welcoming school, and you feel that as soon as you walk through the door.’ You have managed to resolve successfully most issues raised in your last inspection in 2014. However, you acknowledged that your attempts to ensure that teaching challenges most-able pupils have proved elusive. This is reflected in the fact that fewer pupils than nationally achieve greater depth in their learning. You are continuing to address this issue. We agreed that there is a need to improve outcomes for pupils in subjects other than English and mathematics. To this end, from September, you decided to teach science discretely and ensured that sufficient time was allocated. Pupils’ work shows that this has been successful. There is a clear structure to their scientific understanding. We noted, in lessons, that appropriate use was being made of scientific language, and investigation was firmly at the core of pupils’ learning. You recognise the need to concentrate now on improving other subjects such as design and technology, history and geography, which currently are not being taught with sufficient rigour and depth. Safeguarding is effective. You make the welfare and safety of your pupils a high priority. You, your staff and governors are committed to keeping children safe. Safeguarding checks and procedures are thorough, and all staff working with pupils have received relevant training. They have a good understanding of procedures to follow should they be concerned about a child’s welfare. Staff also talked with confidence about the latest national concerns relating to the ‘Prevent’ duty to keep children safe from extremism. The school works well with other agencies to support vulnerable families. Pupils described the school as ‘a safe place to be’. They are confident that they can share any worries they have with an adult and they confirmed that incidents of bullying are very rare and are always promptly dealt with. They verified that behaviour around the school is good and that there is minimal disruption in lessons.