Trewirgie Junior School

Age group 7–11 Inspection date(s) 13–14 June 2012 Inspection number 395544 Trewirgie Junior School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 136831 Local authority Cornwall Inspection number 395544 Inspection dates 13–14 June 2012 Lead inspector Paul Garvey

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Type of school Junior School category Community Age range of pupils 7–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 369 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Neil Cannicott Headteacher Jane Sargent Date of previous school inspection 6 February 2008 School address Falmouth Road Redruth TR15 2QN Telephone number 01209 215238 Fax number 01209 315384 Email address admin@trewirgie-jnr.cornwall.sch.uk achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked

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after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when.

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You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk, or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days’ notice, by three additional inspectors. The inspectors visited 20 lessons and observed 14 teachers teaching for up to 40 minutes on each occasion. Afterwards, the inspectors met with teachers to discuss their findings. A number of lessons were also visited for shorter periods to gather other information. Additionally, the inspectors met with pupils, members of staff and the Chair of the Governing Body. The inspectors listened to pupils reading and analysed work in pupils’ books. The inspectors took account of the responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) in planning the inspection, observed the school’s work and looked at a variety of documentation including the school development plan, records of pupils’ progress, policies and school self-evaluation documents. The 208 returned questionnaires from parents and carers were analysed, as well as responses from pupils and staff.

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Information about the school

Trewirgie Junior School is a larger-than-average sized school for its type. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic heritages is lower than that found nationally and few pupils speak English as an additional language. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is also lower than that found nationally. The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is similar to the national figure, as is the proportion of pupils who have a statement of special educational needs and are at school action plus. Since the last inspection a new headteacher has been appointed, starting in September 2010. The school achieved academy status in July 2011. The school has an area resource base for 10 pupils with moderate and/or severe learning difficulties. The school has met the government’s current floor standard, which sets the minimum expectations for progress and attainment. The school holds the International Schools award at the

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Information about the school

intermediate level and the Healthy Schools Plus award. There are 12 classes in the school, with three in each year group. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Key findings

 This is a good school. All pupils, including disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, make good progress from their starting points. The school is not yet outstanding because teaching is not outstanding and this does not lead to outstanding achievement.

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Key findings

 The headteacher is passionate about learning and she provides a clear vision. This is supported by leaders and managers at all levels and by the governing body. Staff are thus united in their ambition to improve. As a result, the curriculum has improved rapidly and it is innovative and creative. The range of curriculum opportunities provided has led to improvements in attainment, especially in literacy.

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Key findings

 The leadership of teaching and learning and the management of teachers’ performance have been effective in improving teaching. Pupils’ progress is tracked carefully, but marking does not allow pupils the opportunity to engage in a dialogue to show their teachers when they are confident that they have understood and they are ready to move on to the next stage in their learning.

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Key findings

 Behaviour is good and pupils feel safe. The school has been successful in creating an environment where everyone feels part of the school family. As a result, pupils are happy in the school and attend well. Relationships between pupils and teachers are especially strong, but whole-class sessions do not always fully engage every pupil, as the amount of teacher talk reduces the degree of independence the pupils have in their learning.

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Key findings

 The well-planned curriculum promotes pupils’ social, moral, spiritual and cultural development effectively and this underpins good learning. Pupils have a clear sense of right and wrong and the school has been successful in developing pupils’ awareness of the meaning of spirituality and an awareness of different cultures, as well as celebrating Cornish culture. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching so that all pupils achieve outstandingly well by:  enabling pupils to engage in a dialogue through marking which shows when they have achieved their teachers’ expectations and that they are ready to move on  ensuring that teachers do not talk for too long in lessons and that there are increased opportunities for pupils to work independently and use their initiative.

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Achievement of pupils

Good learning in classrooms leads to good progress overall. Attainment on entry varies but in the main it is broadly as is usually expected for the age group. However, even when numeracy and literacy skills are lower, all groups of pupils make good progress from their starting points. Variations in the performance of different groups have narrowed and all groups of pupils achieve well. This is a result of assiduous tracking and targeting of resources at pupils, or groups of pupils, who may be in danger of slipping behind. For the majority of pupils, attainment is in line with national expectations. Attainment in English is higher, especially in reading, as pupils have responded rapidly to the introduction of a more creative curriculum. The wide range of curriculum opportunities encourages pupils to read across a range of different genres. Year 5 pupils were insistent in saying that there was a clear link

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Achievement of pupils

between increases in their rate of progress in the school and the introduction of a more varied curriculum and thus more ‘fun’ lessons. Several parents and carers referred to the range of visits and extra-curricular activities that their children took part in. One wrote, ‘Our daughter loves learning at Trewirgie. She is proud of the school’s achievements and she is inspired by a love of enquiry through the opportunities that are on offer.’

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Achievement of pupils

Examples of outstanding learning were seen as a consequence of outstanding teaching. In a Year 6 English lesson, pupils were encouraged to examine what they would expect to find in a ship’s logbook. Through a series of carefully constructed tasks they created detailed and extensive lists. Effective support from the teaching assistant allowed lower-ability pupils to progress as well as those of all other abilities and the result was a class extremely well prepared to write their own ship’s logbook. Pupils read aloud confidently from a story about a journey to Africa and this fluency in reading reflected the above average reading skills of pupils when they leave. Effective support from other adults leads to good progress for disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, and was seen in many classrooms and in the area resource base. Parents and pupils reflect these positive views about

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Achievement of pupils

achievement in the school. Almost all parents and carers felt that their children were making good progress at the school and there were many positive comments about their children’s progress; some from parents whose children had joined recently. One Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Achievement of pupils

parent or carer wrote, ‘My children have grown emotionally since starting Trewirgie in early 2012. We are very happy here.’

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Quality of teaching

Teaching is good but there are not enough examples of outstanding teaching to produce consistently outstanding progress among pupils. Where outstanding learning was observed, it was often as a result of teachers employing innovative curriculum development, based around engaging topic work, to excellent effect. In a cross- curricular literacy and art lesson, spiritual and cultural appreciation was furthered by pupils being encouraged to write their emotional responses to pieces of sculpture by a famous British artist. Following discussion in small groups, the pupils were able to make choices about which resources they would use to build their own sculpture. This allowed experimentation and thus the more-able pupils could demonstrate more advanced skills. The resultant discussions about emotions and artistic techniques showed all abilities had responded well to the high level of challenge. When lessons

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Quality of teaching

were more teacher-led and pupils had less opportunity to demonstrate their independence, learning was slower, leading to some pupils being less engaged.

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Quality of teaching

Careful planning to ensure the needs of all groups pupils are met, combined with skilled support from other adults, means that disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress. In a mixed-age music lesson for pupils in the area resource base, confidence and self-esteem were built through the use of actions and songs. Highly positive relationships with adults contributed greatly to the pupils’ enjoyment of their learning and all pupils were seen to make progress as a result. The progress of all pupils is thoroughly tracked and this allows for well- targeted interventions to boost the progress of individual pupils, if required. Marking is thorough and shows pupils the next steps they need to take in their learning. However, pupils do not get a chance to add their own comments to this marking and so cannot identify to their teachers when they have achieved their individual learning

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Quality of teaching

outcomes and are thus confident enough to take the next step in their learning.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils say that they feel safe in the school and every parent or carer who expressed an opinion through the questionnaire felt that their child feels safe at Trewirgie. Inspectors judge that pupils are safe and that they behave well. Pupils say that they have a good awareness of different types of bullying, for instance they highlighted what they had learned about racial bullying in anti-bullying week and also about e- safety. They say that instances of bullying are rare and limited to occasional name- calling. In discussions, they expressed their liking for their school and that there are always people they can talk to if they feel troubled. Pupils also feel that any instances of poor behaviour are dealt with very well by staff. A few questionnaire comments from parents and carers pointed to instances of low-level disruption in class, but inspectors observed no examples of poor behaviour. Pupils were less

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

enthusiastic about their learning when they had to rely on their teacher for information and direction. Pupils echoed this in discussion. Pupils at Trewirgie have a Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

keen sense of belonging and as such they attend well. Absence has been reduced through successfully talking to parents and carers about taking holidays in term-time. As a consequence, attendance is above average. Pupils are keen to participate in a wide range of extra-curricular activities. Pupils proudly showed off their trophy cabinet and talked excitedly about reaching the national finals for tag rugby several times. Such excellence in sport has contributed to the school being awarded the coveted Healthy Schools plus award. The pupils contribute very well to local cultural events. They were observed rehearsing for a local opera company performance with diligence and enjoyment.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils feel safe because safeguarding procedures are robust and all staff and governors are well trained in safeguarding techniques. Pupils also feel a high degree of emotional safety, because relationships between adults and pupils are assured, steadfast and based on a spirit of mutual respect and trust. Indeed one pupil from Year 6 said that being at Trewirgie has been ‘like being in a big family’ and his friends readily agreed. This contributes to the pupils receiving a very good moral and social education and the outcomes are the excellent relationships between pupils and their teachers and other adults.

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Leadership and management

The headteacher has forged a team which shares a clear vision of how to bring about school improvement. Monitoring of teaching and learning is shared throughout the leadership team and it is effective. This is shown by the rapid rate at which the quality of teaching and learning has improved over time. However, too few lessons are outstanding and there is still satisfactory teaching in some lessons. Leaders and managers said that they feel well supported in their roles. A well-led governing body has guided the school through its conversion to academy status with perspicacity and acumen. In consequence, the previously good rate of pupils’ progress was maintained through the conversion process.

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Leadership and management

All groups of pupils achieve well and thus have an equal opportunity to succeed. Pupils say that discrimination in the school is absent and that every individual is valued. Self-evaluation is detailed and precise and leads to leaders and managers having an accurate appreciation of the strengths of the school and areas which need improvement. One example of the insightful leadership of the headteacher is in the introduction of a wider, topic-based curriculum. This has given pupils greater opportunities to develop their literacy skills, through, for example, learning about cultures and religions other than their own, both in Britain and in other countries. This has improved pupils’ knowledge. Their links to two schools in Kenya, for whom the pupils have helped to raise funds, have led to the school being awarded the International Schools award at the intermediate level.

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Leadership and management

The improvements effected since the last inspection show that school has the capacity for further improvement. Arrangements for safeguarding and to ensure that pupils feel safe are robust. Pupils’ contribution to the annual Trewirgie carol concert was highlighted by the comments of some parents and carers. This reflects the Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Leadership and management

esteem in which the school is held by parents and carers. This is shown clearly by all 208 parents and carers that returned questionnaires saying that they would recommend the school to another parent or carer.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding These features are highly effective. An outstanding school provides exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. Grade 2 Good These are very positive features of a school. A school that is good is serving its pupils well. Grade 3 Satisfactory These features are of reasonable quality. A satisfactory school is providing adequately for its pupils. Grade 4 Inadequate These features are not of an acceptable standard. An inadequate school needs to make significant improvement in order to meet the needs of its pupils. Ofsted inspectors will make further visits until it improves.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Nursery schools 54 42 2 2 Primary schools 14 49 32 6 Secondary schools 20 39 34 7 Special schools 33 45 20 3 Pupil referral units 9 55 28 8 All schools 16 47 31 6

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

New school inspection arrangements have been introduced from 1 January 2012. This means that inspectors make judgements that were not made previously. The data in the table above are for the period 1 September to 31 December 2011 and represent judgements that were made under the school inspection arrangements that were introduced on 1 September 2009. These data are consistent with the latest published official statistics about maintained school inspection outcomes (see www.ofsted.gov.uk). The sample of schools inspected during 2010/11 was not representative of all schools nationally, as weaker schools are inspected more frequently than good or outstanding schools. Primary schools include primary academy converters. Secondary schools include secondary academy converters, sponsor-led academies and city technology colleges. Special schools include special academy converters and non-maintained special schools.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Percentages are rounded and do not always add exactly to 100.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Achievement: the progress and success of a pupil in their learning and development taking account of their attainment.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attainment: the standard of the pupils’ work shown by test and examination results and in lessons.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attendance: the regular attendance of pupils at school and in lessons, taking into account the school’s efforts to encourage good attendance.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Behaviour: how well pupils behave in lessons, with emphasis on their attitude to learning. Pupils’ punctuality to lessons and their conduct around the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Capacity to improve: the proven ability of the school to continue improving based on its self-evaluation and what the school has accomplished so far and on the quality of its systems to maintain improvement.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Floor standards: the national minimum expectation of attainment and progression measures.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Leadership and management: the contribution of all the staff with responsibilities, not just the governors and headteacher, to identifying priorities, directing and motivating staff and running the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Learning: how well pupils acquire knowledge, develop their understanding, learn and practise skills and are developing their competence as learners.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Overall effectiveness: inspectors form a judgement on a school’s overall effectiveness based on the findings from their inspection of the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Progress: the rate at which pupils are learning in lessons and over longer periods of time. It is often measured by comparing the pupils’ attainment at the end of a key stage with their attainment when they started.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Safety: how safe pupils are in school, including in lessons; and their understanding of risks. Pupils’ freedom from bullying and harassment. How well the school promotes safety, for example e-learning.

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

main findings from the inspection of their school.

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Inspection of Trewirgie Junior School, Redruth TR15 2QN

Thank you for making us so welcome when we visited your school. We enjoyed seeing how you work in lessons, talking to you and having some of your prefects take us around your school. We also read your questionnaires. We were especially impressed with the sporting achievements of the school, particularly your tag rugby team reaching the national finals once again. You told us that you make a lot of progress at school and that you enjoy your work. Your headteacher, other staff and the governing body work well together to make your school a happy place in which to learn. You get on well together and you behave well. You know a lot about being safe and healthy and you are well cared for by all adults. You also told us about the way your lessons have been made imaginative and fun by your teachers and that you learn better as a result.

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Inspection of Trewirgie Junior School, Redruth TR15 2QN

We believe that Trewirgie provides you with a good quality of education and we have suggested two things for your teachers to do which would help to make it even better.

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Inspection of Trewirgie Junior School, Redruth TR15 2QN

 To ensure that you are very well involved in your learning, we have asked your teachers to give you a chance to respond to their marking so that you can show them clearly when you have learned what your teachers wanted you to learn and that you are ready to move on.  We have also asked them to give you even more chances to work with others and on your own, as we saw the best learning taking place at Trewirgie was when you had the chance to learn independently, making more of your own decisions about how to achieve.

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Inspection of Trewirgie Junior School, Redruth TR15 2QN

You can all help by continuing to work hard and doing your best. It was a great pleasure for us to visit Trewirgie and we wish you every success for the future.

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Inspection of Trewirgie Junior School, Redruth TR15 2QN

Paul Garvey Lead inspector procedures set out in the guidance 'Complaining about inspections', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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