The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Since your arrival at the school in January 2015, the speed of school improvement has increased. Your evaluation of the school’s performance is accurate and this has enabled you to prioritise suitable actions to improve the school. Leaders’ and governors’ ambitions for each pupil to achieve well in a caring and nurturing environment are epitomised in the school’s motto, ‘Success for today; preparation for tomorrow’. The school’s reputation for offering high levels of pastoral support to pupils and their families has been strengthened by your renewed focus on academic excellence. Parents I spoke with feel that your shared role as executive headteacher with the local junior school is particularly positive in securing an effective transition for the pupils as they move between the schools from Year 2 to Year 3. Working closely with the deputy headteacher, you have addressed the areas for improvement identified at the time of the last inspection. You have introduced a curriculum with topics that encourage boys’ participation and learning while also appealing to the girls’ interests. The current topic ‘Toys’ is a good example, with all pupils, but particularly the boys in Years 1 and 2, clearly motivated to read and write, often for extended periods. You have purchased a wide range of additional reading books, with many new non-fiction titles designed to capture boys’ interests. As a result of these actions, the progress and attainment for boys in the early years and key stage 1 are increasing over time. You have focused the efforts of the family support worker and the school’s attendance consultant on improving pupils’ attendance. The school’s procedures for first-day calling and third-day home visits are good examples of the importance you place on daily attendance to improve pupils’ outcomes and to ensure their safety. Fortnightly updates on attendance rates in the school’s newsletters and awards for excellent attendance ensure that parents and pupils are reminded of the importance of coming to school every day. However, you have not shied away from seeking prosecutions for the parents of particularly poor attenders. Attendance rates are gradually increasing. Absences are very accurately recorded. Levels of persistent absence are still higher than average, which reflects the impact of a few pupils with very poor attendance. In 2016, the proportion of the most able disadvantaged Year 2 pupils achieving greater depth in their reading, writing and mathematics was well below that of nondisadvantaged pupils nationally. During the work scrutiny we undertook together, we identified that, in the majority of classes, pupils of different abilities often undertake the same tasks. Teachers are not adept enough at identifying the next steps in pupils’ learning and this results in work that is often not challenging enough, particularly for the most able disadvantaged pupils. As a result, they do not make fast enough progress and their attainment over time is not as good as it should be. Safeguarding is effective. The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and records are detailed and of high quality. There are extensive records covering pupils’ behaviour and incidents involving physical intervention. You analyse these records regularly, identifying and addressing any patterns and trends. You use this information to access external support for the small number of pupils who have additional behavioural or social needs. There is good evidence of the positive impact of this support on the behaviour of these pupils over time. Leaders, governors and staff undertake regular training relevant to child protection and safeguarding issues, such as raising awareness of risks of extremism, child sexual exploitation and domestic violence. Governors are particularly vigilant and undertake unannounced spot checks to ensure that staff are putting their training into practice and that documents such as the single central record are accurate and up to date. Parents I spoke with feel assured that their children are safe and that school staff will deal with any concerns they or their children have, quickly and effectively.