The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You have managed the expansion of the school effectively. You have taken opportunities presented by the reorganisation of classes in order to improve the progress and outcomes for pupils, especially in key stage 1. There are now more pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities in the school, and there has also been a sharp rise in the number of pupils whose first language is not English. You have ensured that the support available to these groups of pupils is strong. As a result, their needs are well met and they often make progress which is above, and sometimes well above, the national average. Your decision to introduce phase leaders in September 2017 has proved a most effective strategy. They have successfully promoted high standards in teaching, learning and assessment, supported the moderation of pupils’ progress and managed the day-to-day running of their phase of the school. Parents are hugely supportive of the school, appreciating the high priority which all staff and leaders give to the welfare and personal development of pupils. I spoke informally to parents and carers in the playground and I also examined the views of those who responded to Ofsted’s online text questionnaire. Typical comments included, ‘Inclusion is remarkable, my child has been given every possible support and encouragement,’ and, ‘The staff are all so friendly and helpful, my child’s progress has been amazing.’ St Philip Howard Catholic Primary School has many strengths, including the vibrant provision for children in the Nursery and Reception classes, the teaching of music and French led by a highly effective specialist teacher, and the personal development and welfare of pupils. Attendance is extremely high; pupils rarely miss a day at school. Governors ensure that they understand the needs, strengths and priorities of the school well. They have a well-founded vision for the school to become outstanding, and they understand the next steps the school needs to take in order to realise this ambition. Governors ask appropriately challenging questions of senior leaders. They also fully support your drive to bring about further improvements to pupils’ progress and outcomes, especially in mathematics. You are also ambitious for the school to continue to improve, and you have plans to build upon recent advances. You accept that information from national assessments at the end of key stage 2 shows that there is scope for more pupils, particularly those with middle and higher abilities, to make stronger progress in mathematics. You are rightly keen that more pupils should achieve the higher standard in mathematics by the time they leave the school. You are also aware of the need to ensure that work planned for pupils across the wider curriculum offers a greater variety of challenge and expectation, in order to meet pupils’ needs more fully. Safeguarding is effective. You ensure that the school’s safeguarding arrangements are well organised, securely maintained and fit for purpose. Records of adults’ suitability to work with children are clear and comprehensive, as are the records of contractors working on the school site. The designated safeguarding governor carries out monitoring activities to ensure that systems are robust. Teachers and support staff understand their role in keeping pupils safe at school, and they understand how to report any concerns. You and your two assistant headteachers, who are also designated safeguarding leaders, liaise effectively with other agencies, ensuring that concerns are followed up quickly. When the need arises, you seek advice in a timely manner from specialist child protection advisers. The pupils I spoke to informally around the school told me that they feel safe and happy at school. Parents confirm that pupils are well looked after and well cared for. Inspection findings In order to ascertain whether the school remained good, I followed a number of lines of enquiry. One of these was about the steps leaders are taking to improve pupils’ progress in mathematics in key stage 2, especially for the most able pupils. In the 2016 and the 2017 key stage 2 mathematics tests, pupils’ performance indicated that they had made broadly similar progress in these subjects to pupils nationally. The proportion of pupils achieving at the higher standard in 2017 was below the national average in mathematics.