The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. There have been many positive changes since you became headteacher in 2016. Together with your leadership team, you have improved the quality of provision in early years, strengthened the teaching of early reading skills and set consistently high expectations for pupils’ work across the school. You have an accurate view of the school’s effectiveness. You are passionate about the school’s work but do not try to hide its weaknesses. You and your leadership team have managed a period of turbulence well. You have resolved staffing difficulties in school by restructuring the team and appointing new teachers. The school has also coped well with an unsettled period of governance. You can now look forward to rejuvenated challenge from the governing body in the next stage of the school’s improvement. Staff morale is high and they fully support the changes you have made, including the improvements to managing pupils’ behaviour. You have made excellent use of the outdoor space to introduce pupils to the forest school experiences. These opportunities help to raise pupils’ self-esteem and increase their motivation. You have noticed that this has had a very positive impact on developing good attitudes and improving behaviour for many pupils, including those who are disadvantaged or who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. This in turn has supported pupils with their learning, building resilience and perseverance. Revisions to the school’s behaviour policy and the organisation of the school day have also contributed to the positive behaviour that is seen in school. Sutton Manor is at the heart of a long-established community with a great tradition in the mining industry. There are many pupils whose parents and grandparents attended the school during its 100-year-old history. The school is very proud of its reputation in the local community, which has faced many challenges. Governors explained that pupils at the school contributed to the iconic Dream sculpture that sits on the site of the old colliery. Pupils learn to understand and celebrate their heritage through the rich curriculum and close links with community groups. Parents are supportive of the school and agree that there have been improvements since your arrival. As one parent explained, ‘My child has always loved coming to this school, but I feel it has improved since having a new headteacher.’ At the previous inspection in 2013, weaknesses in the school’s assessment procedures were identified. With the help of the deputy headteacher, changes have been made. A new pupil-tracking system was introduced to help teachers assess pupils’ learning across the curriculum. Assessment at the end of key stage 1 was strengthened and is now more accurate. This helps teachers to match learning closely to pupils’ ability when they start Year 3. There are key dates across the school year for assessment data to be collected and analysed. This is helping leaders to identify patterns and trends more quickly. It also highlights variations in performance between pupils, groups and subjects. If a pupil starts to fall behind, they are identified quickly and given support to help them catch up. You were also asked to provide challenging activities so that more pupils could attain higher levels in reading, writing and mathematics. You have taken effective actions. A new leader for mathematics was appointed and he has introduced improvements to the teaching of mathematics. Staff received additional training and there are more opportunities for pupils to develop reasoning skills and apply their mathematical knowledge by solving problems. These actions have strengthened the progress that pupils make. Standards in writing are also improving across the school and, as pupils move through key stage 2, their understanding of text structure and plot development progresses. Spelling, punctuation and grammar are taught consistently and pupils take care with the presentation of their work. There has also been improvement in reading, although test results for Year 6 at the end of last term do not reflect this. Problems encountered by a small number of individual pupils skewed the data. You have raised the profile of reading and provided extra training for staff. Your own assessment shows that in most year groups the progress that pupils make is accelerating. Evidence I gathered agrees with your judgement. Pupils who read to me were accurate and fluent. They said that they enjoy reading and have plenty of opportunity to practise their skills. In class, teachers have high expectations of pupils’ reading skills when they are challenged to explain their understanding of texts.