the school has achieved outcome 1:

Raynsford Church of England Academy has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection

In our previous inspection, 2018, the school was rated 'Good'.

The process was very thorough and the inspector took a very detailed approach in ensuring she was able to really understand the school and children.

We would like to thank all those who took part in the inspection, staff, governors, parents and pupils alike. We felt it really captured the incredible school experience we offer to all of our children.

The report is a summary of all the amazing work the school has put in place and we wanted to share with you some of the highlights from the feedback we received during the inspection:

Quality Of Education:

• The children love their school
• The children are building confidence in decoding and the school does all it can to ensure children are reading
• Reading is taught effectively and children do well
• The children learn phonics well and achieve the foundation knowledge they need to move forward with their reading
• The wider reading curriculum is well organised and well sequenced
• The school uses high quality texts which enables wider knowledge, understanding and vocabulary development
• Children with Special Educational Needs still have the same access through guided reading
• All children say they love reading including those with Special Educational Needs and even those who find reading challenging
• The children reported that they love hearing their teacher read.
• Early writing is taught well particularly in Foundation Stage
• There have been lots of positive changes in the Early Years Foundation Stage
• There have been substantial improvements to the curriculum (included for 2 year olds) and approach in both preschool and Reception, with high expectations set throughout
• The EYFS is clear about what they want children to learn at different stages - listen, pay attention and concentrate.
• Children are encouraged to engage and to learn to self regulate - children learn this well which will stand them in good stead moving to Reception and through the schoo
• Writing continues to be taught well across the school and there is a clear curriculum
• Within early mathematics, children are developing secure number knowledge and children who need help receive it
• Assessment is used well in maths, reading and writing
• There has been a lot of work in the school on teaching pedagogy - teachers teaching well and their subject knowledge is well supported. Teachers are good at checking understanding and working on improving feedback and they are addressing misconceptions and feeding back straight away which is effective.

Behaviour and Attitudes

• The school has demonstrated an improvement in attendance and addressed persistent absence quickly
• The conduct of the children is very positive and attitudes to learning are excellent.
• The Children want to work hard and try their best. They are all engaged with their learning.
• Children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)are supported well both academically and personally and there are the same expectations of attitudes to learning.
• The school has very little low level disruption.
• Support staff are well trained - they handle children sensitively, they recognise triggers and children receive support to participate if they need it. 
• The children understand the school behaviour policy well and know the different levels of behaviour and their and the consequences,. The children feel it works and they accept that there are consequences to certain behaviours.
• All children, including those with SEND, have a good understanding of the zones of regulation

Personal Development

• The personal development provision of the school is a strength 
• The children clearly understand the school values and are able to explain why they are important and how they try to embody these
• The children are eager to talk about their learning in RSE - how to forge relationships, talk to trusted adults, not bottling up emotions.
• The children love their school, they love their lessons, they like their teachers, they like that they can talk to adults, they enjoy opportunities to fundraise and to take on responsibilities within the classroom and school.
• The children are keen to talk about differences and accepting differences and how these can enrich the lives of the community.
• The school is doing a good job preparing children for life beyond primary school

Leadership and Management

• The new leaders and governors identified where the school needed improvements and have taken / supported steps to address these quickly
• The school focussed on the correct areas first: safeguarding, the development of core subjects (reading, writing and maths) and developing the EYFS 
• Improvements have been achieved well in a short amount of time
• There is strong leadership capacity for the school leaders and governors to take the school forward, it is a school that can fly.
• There is a strong safeguarding and the systems are rigorous and efficient.
• The senior leadership team and the governors have been aware of the requirements for improvements and the workload this has on staff and staff feel valued.
• Staff are well motivated, there is a strong team and staff are proud to work at the school