The leadership team know the school well and plan effectively for improvement. Consequently, you have maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Ably supported by leaders and governors, you have met the recommendations from the previous inspection well. The previous inspection found that boys’ writing needed to improve and that activities did not always stretch the most able pupils. In 2016, boys’ progress in writing across key stage 2 was significantly higher than the national average and there is now a clear level of challenge for the most able, who are consequently making good progress. The previous inspection also recommended that you put more effective interventions in place to support children’s learning in the early years, and you have addressed this too. You have made extensive improvements to the indoor and outdoor areas, so that children have a wider range of opportunities to develop new skills. You have reviewed the curriculum, so that children are motivated to learn and respond to challenges with enthusiasm and determination. As we walked around the school, we noted that the whole-school curriculum promotes positive attitudes, such as perseverance. A Year 1 pupil explained it very well to us when he said, ‘You try your hardest and never give up; you can do anything then.’ During the inspection, we saw pupils being courteous and playing harmoniously together. Relationships between adults and pupils, and among pupils, are very strong. It is a school that knows its community well and puts children and their families at the heart of all it does. Leaders’ evaluation of the school’s strengths and areas to improve is accurate. You are aware that pupils do not achieve as well in reading as they do in writing and mathematics. Also, that the proportion of pupils reaching the appropriate standard in phonics is below average and that not enough pupils reach greater depth at the end of key stage 1. You have put in place a range of initiatives to improve pupils’ achievement in reading. Leaders have provided training for staff, so that your high expectations are met and that the quality of teaching and learning of reading and phonics is improving. Safeguarding is effective. The leadership team and governors have ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and that records are kept well. Leaders have robust systems to ensure that pupils are kept safe. All staff receive regular training and are clear what to do if they have any concerns, which the designated leader then follows up carefully. Governors are actively involved in ensuring that procedures are effective, for example by ratifying that the pre-employment checks that show that adults are suitable to work with children meet statutory requirements. Parents are overwhelmingly supportive of the school’s work and of how safe and happy their children are. One of the comments left on the online survey, Parent View, sums up the opinions of many: ‘I am never worried about his safety when I am at work.’ Inspection findings After the previous inspection there was an initial rise in the proportion of children who reach a good level of development at the end of Reception. However, this figure has plateaued for the last few years and remains below the national average. Consequently, leaders have introduced provision for two- and three-year-olds. The school’s current performance information suggests that this is having a strong impact on children’s achievement and that the proportion of children reaching a good level of development will rise considerably this year. Staff have transformed the indoor and outdoor environment to give children more opportunities to develop a range of key skills. Adults have received highquality training so that they now all know when and how to intervene to promote greater learning. The curriculum is taught through a selection of themes which stimulate and motivate children. When I visited the early years classes, children were engrossed in writing following a visit to the forest area where they had 2 experienced similar conditions – mud and long grass – as the characters in the book linked to this term’s theme. Nevertheless, the curriculum is still fluid enough to be able to respond to children’s interests. For example, to encourage boys who really enjoy playing with trains to develop pencil control, teachers were supporting them to draw and label their own tracks and stations. The proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics check is currently below the national average. As a result, leaders have made changes to the way in which phonics is taught, particularly in Reception. By ensuring that activities exactly match children’s level of understanding, learning is brisk and progress is evident. Leaders’ initial analysis of the impact of these changes indicates that the school’s results in the phonics check this year will rise. Staff regularly assess pupils’ phonics skills. However, teachers do not challenge less-able pupils enough to ensure that they make sufficiently rapid progress to catch up. Pupils from different starting points enjoy reading and are confident to discuss what they have read. They use a range of strategies, including their phonics knowledge, to help them tackle unfamiliar words. They can see the importance of reading for their adult lives. Outcomes in reading, although good, are not as strong as in writing and mathematics. Leaders know this and have prioritised improving reading further. Leaders ensure that the choice of texts interests and stimulates pupils. For example, when we visited their classes, pupils in Year 6 were reading an article about the Titanic which called for them to empathise with survivors and victims’ families. Pupils showed great compassion and understanding, which reflects the school’s values and caring ethos, and illustrates how well they had understood what they had read. Teaching now focuses closely on ensuring that pupils understand how to answer different types of comprehension questions. As a result, outcomes are improving for current pupils. However, adults do not always support pupils to think more deeply about all the possible meanings of the text. In 2016, the proportion of pupils who reached greater depth in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 1 was below average because not enough pupils of average ability made rapid progress. Leaders acknowledge this and there is now a greater level of challenge in lessons for that group. There is clear evidence in the school’s own achievement information and pupils’ work in their books that this is having a positive impact and that outcomes will rise this year.