The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Your previous role as the school‟s deputy headteacher enabled you to build on the school‟s existing strengths when you took up the post of headteacher at the beginning of this academic year. You were joined, at the same time, by a new deputy headteacher and you work well together as a strong team. With good support from the trust‟s school improvement adviser, you quickly and accurately identified the key areas for further development. Pupils‟ achievement in mathematics is a key priority for your work. You have taken decisive and successful action to bring about rapid improvement in a short space of time. As a result, pupils are beginning to make better progress in mathematics. You and your team recognise that there is more work to do to strengthen the provision further. You are mindful of the issues identified as needing improvement from the previous inspection of your predecessor school. Pupils‟ achievement in writing, for example, has improved. You are aware that the school‟s website needs updating and plans are already underway to do this. You have recognised that subject leaders need to have more impact on improving teaching and learning and pupils‟ outcomes. Senior leaders provide good support for established and new middle leaders to develop their skills and increase their effectiveness. Leaders track pupils‟ progress carefully and ensure that any additional help is quickly provided. You acknowledge the need to monitor pupils‟ progress from their starting points to eliminate any emerging differences between different groups, so that all groups achieve as well as they can. Your enthusiasm and determination to provide the best education possible for pupils reflect your ambition and aspirations for the school. These are shared by staff, governors and trust members. You have quickly gained the confidence and support of staff, parents and pupils in your leadership. Staff are proud of their school, enjoy working in it and feel valued and respected. Morale is high. Parents are very positive about the education their children receive and share your ambition. One parent commented: „I am excited for the future of the school under the leadership of the headteacher and deputy headteacher.‟ Another wrote: „I have every confidence in the headteacher to keep standards of teaching high and to take the school to the next level.‟ Parents agree that the school has a strong family feel, has an inclusive community atmosphere and provides excellent care for their children. Many parents wrote about the school‟s „great ethos and values‟ and the care shown by staff for the well-being and personal development of every pupil. Pupils feel that they are „loved and cared for‟ by adults in the school and that „we make good friends to last a lifetime‟. Pupils enjoy learning at Stella Maris. They are happy and relish the exciting opportunities that help them develop into polite, confident, friendly and wellrounded individuals. There are excellent, trusting and respectful relationships between staff and pupils. Pupils work hard and want to do well. Pupils enjoy the projects and visits that enrich teaching and learning. For example, pupils talked about their theatre trip to see a production of „War Horse‟, as part of their study of the First World War. They said it has made reading the book in class far more meaningful, as well as „exciting and fun‟. Safeguarding is effective. The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding requirements are fit for purpose and records are detailed and of high quality. There is a culture of safeguarding in the school and the safety and welfare of all pupils have a high profile. During the summer holiday, you tirelessly and efficiently dealt with events on the premises, which were beyond your control, to ensure that the environment was safe and secure for pupils to return to school. Pupils say they feel safe and happy in school and that they are confident to talk to staff should any problems arise. All parents who responded to the online questionnaire, Parent View, agree that their children feel safe at school. Staff recognise that child protection is everyone‟s responsibility. They receive regular training in keeping pupils safe from a variety of risks, including those related to online safety. Staff also receive timely safeguarding updates to meet any new requirements. Staff know what to do if they have any concerns about a pupil‟s wellbeing. You and your inclusion leader are trained as designated safeguarding leaders and your deputy headteacher is undertaking training for this role. Good relationships are established with outside agencies to ensure that vulnerable pupils and their families get the prompt and effective support they need.