The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection, and is ensuring that the school continues to move forwards strongly. You, your fellow leaders and governors share an ambitious vision for St Stephen’s. Since you took up your post in September 2018 you have quickly identified where the school’s strengths lie, and where there are areas that need further development. You and your deputy, who is also relatively new to post, have developed concise, sharply focused plans for improvement which are already bearing fruit. Staff are overwhelmingly positive because they can see improvements taking effect. They say that they feel valued by school leaders and are proud to work at St Stephen’s. Pupils and parents are also extremely positive about the school. Pupils told me that they enjoy coming to school because their work is interesting and everyone gets on well together. They particularly appreciate the wide range of clubs that they can take part in after school, such as multi-sports, baking and cheerleading. They also enjoy going on school trips, including an annual residential visit for pupils in Year 6. Virtually all parents who responded to the Parent View survey would recommend the school to other parents, and one typical description of St Stephen’s was that it is ‘a great little school’. Pupils are polite and welcoming to visitors. Their behaviour in class and around the school is consistently good, reflecting the school’s six core values, which include friendship and trust. Pupils’ typically positive attitudes to learning are demonstrated by the pride that they take in their work. Relationships throughout the school between staff and pupils are warm and positive. You have addressed the areas for improvement identified by the previous inspection. Pupils use a range of punctuation accurately to enhance their written work. Teachers provide pupils with opportunities to develop their written work in other subjects, such as when writing about a science experiment or describing a Viking attack. As a result of these improvements, pupils’ attainment in writing is typically at least in line with the national average at the end of both key stage 1 and key stage 2. Safeguarding is effective. School leaders have ensured that safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and that staff have a good understanding of their safeguarding responsibilities. Staff and governors receive regular safeguarding training and all staff know what action to take if they are concerned about a pupil’s welfare. Leaders work effectively in partnership with external agencies to ensure that any such concerns are addressed and support quickly put in place. Leaders make sure that rigorous checks are made on staff, governors and regular visitors to the school to ensure that they are suitable people to work with children. Records of these checks are detailed and of a good quality. Pupils say they feel safe in school and are confident that their teachers will look after them. They have a good understanding of how to stay safe in different situations, such as when using the internet or going swimming. Inspection findings The inspection focused on a number of key lines of enquiry. The first of these looked at how effectively reading is taught in key stage 2, as the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading was below average in both 2017 and 2018. You have targeted reading as a key area for improvement. You have ensured that reading is taught in a focused and consistent way, and have made sure that pupils are given plenty of opportunities to read with adults in school. You have engaged well with initiatives centred on reading that have been organised by the local authority, and this is helping to raise the profile of reading in school. Pupils in key stage 2 have very positive attitudes to reading. They talk enthusiastically about their favourite authors, including Jacqueline Wilson and Michael Morpurgo, and can explain what they particularly like about different types of books. Typically, pupils read fluently and with expression. However, at times the limitations of their vocabulary mean that they come across words that they do not understand, and this can affect their grasp of some of the subtleties of the book they are reading. The second line of enquiry focused on the quality of provision in early years. The proportion of children achieving a good level of development is consistently below average each year, and was particularly low in 2018.