The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You and other leaders, including governors, are dedicated, enthusiastic and ambitious for the pupils. You do not accept excuses in holding others to account, so that the pupils can thrive. Since your appointment, you have overseen several strategic changes. These include restructuring staff and leadership positions, as well as adapting the structure of classes so that they evolve continually with the changing needs of the pupils and school community. You have managed this admirably so that pupils, especially those from the most challenging backgrounds, including refugees, are well supported socially, emotionally and academically. This has been acknowledged through your recent award as a ‘school of sanctuary’ this year. The quality of education is good. Pupils enjoy their learning and make valuable contributions in lessons. From their time in Reception, they are taught to be independent and to make the right choices to support their learning. You ensure that there is a balance between learning essential knowledge, and critical communication, language and literacy development. This is achieved through wellorganised play as well as more formal activities in reading, writing and mathematics, to enable children to make strong progress from the start. Children start well below the typical stages of development in Reception, but, by the time they leave the school in Year 6, the majority of pupils have made strong and sustained progress to catch up with their peers nationally in reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils, parents and carers are keen advocates of the school. They are proud and recognise the extra steps taken by staff on a daily basis. A typical view of parents included the comment: ‘I can’t rate this school highly enough! When my daughter started last year she was very shy. This school has brought her confidence out.’ Since the previous inspection, you have been focused on tackling the issues raised at that time. You have particularly targeted phonics as an area for improvement. This is working well so that, despite their very low starting points, most pupils who have not met the phonics standard in Year 1 catch up by Year 2. Comparisons with the national average are made difficult because there are such high proportions of pupils who speak English as an additional language. In 2017, for example, this was as high as 62%. However, you recognise that there is still more to do in accelerating pupils’ knowledge, understanding and application of phonics so that pupils can be more proficient in reading and writing sooner. As such, some pupils are still not meeting this benchmark quickly enough, which delays their ability to read and, consequently, their learning across the curriculum. We also agreed that it is imperative to continue raising pupils’ achievement at the end of key stage 1 in reading, mathematics and particularly writing. Currently, despite the good progress made by pupils to start catching up, large proportions do not meet the standards expected of their age. This means they are not always as well prepared for the challenges of key stage 2 as they need to be. Safeguarding is effective. You and your staff are diligent and skilled in caring for all pupils, including those who are most vulnerable. Your dedicated pastoral team takes a strong lead in working effectively with pupils who have a range of complex needs. However, all staff are like-minded in a school which places pupils’ needs and well-being at the heart of its work. There is a strong culture of safeguarding. You ensure that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. As a result, staff are knowledgeable and aware. Their vigilance and swift actions have been instrumental in keeping pupils safe in a range of different circumstances. You also work effectively with a range of external agencies in championing the needs of pupils in your school. Pupils told me that they feel safe. They know how to stay safe in a range of situations, including when using the internet and on the road and how to respond in the event of a fire. Pupils know what bullying is. They are unanimous in their view that bullying seldom happens in St. Paul’s. On the rare occasions when bullying or other anti-social behaviour occurs, pupils believe that staff act quickly to intervene, as it is not tolerated. Pupils appreciate each other and celebrate difference as part of the school’s diverse culture. You work highly effectively with pupils who have difficult life experiences, including refugees and asylum seekers, to give them the stability, reassurance and conditions they need to feel safe and thrive.