St Kew Community Primary School

School report St Kew Community Primary School St Kew, Bodmin, Cornwall, PL30 3ER

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Leadership and management Require improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Require improvement 3 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Early years provision Good 2

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

 Pupils’ achievement declined after the previous inspection. It is taking longer than it should for achievement to improve at Key Stage 2. These pupils are not making good enough progress to catch up so they do not do as well as they should in national assessments.  Senior leaders work with the governors to plan for improvement but this has not led to rapid improvement.  The monitoring of teaching is not leading to an improvement in the quality of teaching overall.  Middle leaders do not sufficiently hold other teachers to account for the implementation of their improvement measures.  Teachers do not plan their lessons well enough. Work is often set at the wrong level for some groups of pupils so that it is either too difficult or too easy for them.  Lessons do not develop pupils’ understanding sufficiently so they are slow to apply their knowledge and skills.  Teachers do not check how well pupils are learning

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

regularly enough so that they can react quickly when tasks need to be changed.  Teachers and teaching assistants do not share information about pupils’ progress from one lesson to the next.  Teachers’ marking is sometimes too complicated for pupils to follow.  Pupils’ behaviour requires improvement because they are not developing as confident learners. They sit quietly when they could be asking for help or for work that is more challenging.

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The school has the following strengths

 The school is slowly improving. Senior leaders’ systematic monitoring and assessment have led to a rise in the achievement of pupils in Key Stage 1.  Pupils in Key Stage 1 read well and an increasing number of them achieve the higher levels in national tests.  Children get off to a good start in the Early Years Foundation Stage and they are well prepared for Year 1.  Pupils are very positive about the school, respecting one another and their teachers equally. They say they feel safe, and parents and carers are happy their children are well cared for.  Attendance has improved over the last three years and it is now above average.  Parents and carers are effectively involved in their children’s learning because the school keeps them regularly updated about their children’s progress.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector visited classrooms 10 times to observe learning. Six of these observations were conducted jointly with the executive headteacher.  Discussions were held with members of the governing body, the executive headteacher, teachers and a representative from the local authority.  The inspector spoke with groups of pupils, listened to some of them read and looked at samples of their work.  There were 23 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) and the inspector took account of the views of the parents and carers she met at the school.  The inspector looked at various documents, including the records of pupils’ progress, the school’s self- evaluation, development plans, behaviour and attendance records, and safeguarding procedures.  The inspector took account of 15 questionnaires returned by members of staff.

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Inspection team

Juliet Jaggs, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 St Kew Community Primary School is smaller than most primary schools and there are three mixed-age classes.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage learn in a mixed-age class with pupils from Year 1.  The school is in a federation with Upton Cross Primary School with which it shares an executive headteacher.  The majority of pupils are of White British heritage.  The proportion of pupils eligible for the pupil premium, which provides additional funding for children in the care of the local authority and pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, is below average. Presently, there are no pupils in the care of the local authority at the school.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs supported at school action is average, as is the proporation of those at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs. Most of these pupils have needs associated with moderate learning difficulties and speech,

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Information about this school

language and communication difficulties.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.  The school has informal links with the Caradon Cooperative Educational Trust through which it has access to training for staff and sports provision for pupils.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching so that it is consistently at least good by ensuring that teachers:  set tasks that help all pupils to build on what they know and can do already  help pupils, particularly those in Key Stage 2, to apply what they have learned in mathematics and to translate their ideas into accurate prose in English  check how well pupils are learning in lessons and adjust their teaching promptly  encourage pupils to ask questions and seek help when they need it  work closely with teaching assistants to plan effectively from one lesson to the next  provide pupils with feedback that they can understand and use.  Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by ensuring that:  support for teachers improves their planning and use of assessment  middle leaders hold their colleagues to account for the achievement of different groups of pupils within their areas of responsibility.

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The leadership and management require improvement

 The comprehensive programme for monitoring the quality of teaching introduced by senior leaders is not having sufficient impact on raising pupils’ achievement at Key Stage 2.  Although senior leaders have raised expectations about pupils’ progress, teachers find it hard to interpret the assessment information now available so it is not yet being used effectively to plan lessons.  Middle leaders, many of whom are new to their roles, are not using the assessment information available to hold their colleagues to account for the implementation of improvement measures. This means that there has not been a sustained approach to raising pupils’ attainment, particularly in literacy and numeracy.  The curriculum is organised around themes. Although teachers use the themes to link pupils’ learning in different subjects, the links are not always sufficiently well thought through to allow pupils to make the

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The leadership and management require improvement

progress they should in lessons.  The primary sport fund has been used to give pupils more opportunities to participate in sport and to develop teachers’ expertise. Small groups of pupils benefit from their involvement in local tournaments and the football team did well last season. Some pupils’ physical well-being is improving as a result of their participation in activities such as sailing, but in other activities pupils are not doing as well as they should.  The school is now improving after the decline following the previous inspection. A systematic approach to monitoring its effectiveness and using the outcomes of monitoring to inform improvements has helped raise the achievement of pupils in Key Stage 1. This suggests that the school’s leaders have good capacity for continued improvement.  The development of middle-managers’ leadership skills is beginning to have an impact. Checks are being

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The leadership and management require improvement

used to ensure that no groups of pupils are discriminated against. Similarly, checks on the quality of the extra support provided for pupils with special educational needs means that these pupils are now making more consistent progress.  Representatives from the local authority have been involved in monitoring activities at the school. This has led to an agreed view about its overall effectiveness and the most immediate priorities for improvement.  Parents and carers are well informed about their children’s progress and, as a consequence, are often able to give effective support at home.  Residential trips to the Isles of Scilly and London have helped pupils broaden their perception of the United Kingdom, British values and their local heritage, and are part of the effective promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  The governance of the school:  Following on from the previous inspection, members of the governing body realised they were not

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The leadership and management require improvement

providing the school with effective support. They have developed their expertise since then. Those who have attended training about school performance data understand information about pupils’ progress. They challenge the school more robustly now, asking the school’s leaders to account for the impact of their decisions on raising pupils’ achievement, particularly that of pupils eligible for the pupil premium. Governors know about the quality of teaching overall and how senior leaders are attending to underperformance. They have agreed to withhold pay awards where teaching has not been effective. Governors have improved their knowledge about finance so the budget is well managed to keep any potential deficit in check. Governors who have attended safeguarding training help to ensure that school procedures meet the most up-to-date requirements. Members of the governing body join senior leaders and teachers to evaluate the work of the school and to plan for its improvement. They visit the school

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The leadership and management require improvement

frequently to see if these improvements are being effective. The appointment of a governor with a brief to retain a strategic overview helped with the creation of the federation.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils require improvement

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement because pupils are not developing confident attitudes to learning. Adults are so willing to help pupils complete tasks that pupils have come to rely on them to do so. This means that they are also reluctant to ask for help or for work that is more challenging.  Pupils are very committed to the school community and to one another. They have positive attitudes to school and their attendance has continued to improve to above-average levels since the previous inspection.  Pupils know about the various forms of bullying but they said that there is almost none at the school. They are confident that their parents, carers and teachers will deal quickly with any bullying. The school is keen to foster good relationships and pupils of different ages mix together well.  Behaviour records show that there are very few incidents of poor behaviour. When asked about their

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The behaviour and safety of pupils require improvement

views of behaviour in different areas of the school, pupils knew that they had a responsibility to behave considerately at all times. One pupil replied, ‘We respect everyone here.’  The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. The parent forum, a meeting where senior leaders share relevant guidance, has been used effectively to help families become more aware of potential risks when using the internet. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe, and parents and carers are overwhelmingly positive about how well the school cares for their children.  Pupils are beginning to understand the democratic process and they readily accept majority voting decisions. For example, they support the successful candidate when they choose their representatives on the school council.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Each mixed-age class includes groups of pupils with quite different levels of attainment but teachers do not take sufficient account of the assessment information available about these groups when planning lessons. As a consequence, pupils, especially in Key Stage 2, do not make the progress they should.  In lessons, teachers’ explanations are not always clear and the tasks they set do not help pupils to make sense of what they are being taught. Pupils find it hard to retain information and to remember what they have learned from one lesson to the next.  In their conversations with pupils, teachers and teaching assistants tend to provide quick answers rather than probing pupils’ misunderstandings. They do not pay enough attention to signs that pupils are ready to take on a new challenge. More-able pupils in particular do not make the progress they should because they are simply given the next planned task rather than one that takes account of their progress to date.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teachers and teaching assistants do not work closely enough together. There are no effective systems for ensuring that the information gleaned by teaching assistants following the support they give to individual pupils is used to inform subsequent lesson planning.  The marking policy is clearly understood by all teachers, who frequently comment on pupils’ work in their books. Senior leaders have asked teachers to make these comments as specific as possible, but in so doing, feedback has become lengthy and off-putting. Because pupils find marking difficult to understand, it has little impact on helping pupils improve.  Teachers are effectively helping all pupils to improve their spelling. Pupils work in small groups with others learning at the same level, irrespective of their age. Testing is used effectively to check pupils’ progress and to adjust these groupings accordingly.  Pupils in Key Stage 1 are beginning to make good progress in literacy because of the variety of ways

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

teachers help these pupils find out about language. For example, pupils in Year 2 were able to refer to a dictionary as they studied a piece of text and they could see for themselves how to use language in context. Work in their books showed that they are able to use compound nouns and linking words accurately to write good sentences.

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requires improvement

 Pupils in Key Stage 2 are not making good enough progress. The attainment of these pupils began to fall after the previous inspection and they are not learning quickly enough to catch up.  In Key Stage 2, pupils do not achieve well in writing. Although they are imaginative and keen to talk to one another about their ideas, they are not given the help they need to shape these ideas into coherent prose using a variety of sentence structures. Similarly, they do not make the progress they should in mathematics because they are learning to repeat mathematical methods without understanding the underlying principles. They find it hard to recognise the mathematical basis of a word problem and to apply their knowledge in solving it.  More-able pupils do not fulfil their potential because of weaknesses in teaching. In whole-class presentations, higher-attaining pupils are adept at clarifying ideas and working out what is expected of

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requires improvement

them, but this means they waste valuable time when they could be making progress in more challenging, unexplored areas.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs learn well in small groups with teaching assistants. In some cases, teachers give these pupils opportunities to practise this new learning when they return to class and this supports their progress well. Their achievement is not as good at other times because some planned whole-class activities are too difficult for them to attempt. Overall, their progress is similar to that of their peers.  The school is determined to give all pupils equal opportunities to learn well. Pupils eligible for the pupil premium receive targeted attention which helps them grow in confidence and learn well. The school’s records show that these pupils make similar, sometimes better, progress than their peers. The proportion of these pupils sitting national assessments is generally too small to make statistically meaningful

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requires improvement

comparisons.  Pupils in Key Stage 1 are now making good progress and their attainment continues to improve, particularly in reading. They are encouraged to choose different reading materials and there are several planned opportunities for them to read during the school day. Pupils know the sounds that letters make (phonics) so they tackle new words confidently. Year 1 pupils’ attainment in the phonics screening check is consistently above average.  An increased emphasis on learning number facts has had a positive impact on the achievement of pupils in Key Stage 1 with a high proportion consistently achieving the expected standard in mathematics by the end of Year 2.

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is good

 Children join the Reception class with levels of skill and experiences well below those expected. They make quick progress and a high proportion reach a good level of development by the end of the year. They are well prepared for Year 1.  Adults plan motivating activities which encourage children to learn by investigating. Children take a keen interest in the world around them, although fewer do well in creative and technological areas.  Effective use is made of the link with Year 1 where pupils set a good example. Children in Reception adjust to classroom routines so there is a calm and purposeful atmosphere throughout the setting. Occasional squabbles over resources are well managed and children quickly learn to share.  Assessment and observation are well used to ensure that the stages in children’s development are carefully documented and that adults are able to identify accurately what children need to do next.

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is good

Parents and carers are encouraged to tell teachers how their children are developing at home so that teachers can take account of these changes in their planning.  Adults look beyond the expectations of the early learning goals to ensure that children are suitably challenged. For example, a more-able child enjoyed creating his own book about living in the past when his teacher gave him materials from the Key Stage 1 curriculum plan.  Senior leaders’ evaluation of the Early Years Foundation Stage is accurate and they have identified appropriate improvements to help children make more rapid progress. For example, links are being developed with the local pre-school so that staff in both settings can adopt a consistent approach to teaching phonics and children can build more quickly on their knowledge and skills when they arrive at St Kew.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school is failing

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Grade Judgement Description

to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 111919 Local authority Cornwall Inspection number 449117

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School details

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

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 72 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Lianne Sproull Headteacher Mark Clutsom Date of previous school inspection 3–4 November 2010 Telephone number 01208 841306 Fax number 01298 841306 Email address secretary@st-kew.cornwall.sch.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', 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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School details

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 and as part of the inspection.

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School details

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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School details

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 and 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 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

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School details

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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School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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