St Columb Minor Academy

St Columb Minor Academy Porthbean Road, St Columb Minor, Newquay, TR7 3JF

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Not previously inspected This inspection: Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Early years provision Good 2

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This is a good school

 The school’s leaders are ambitious for the school and for its pupils. They make sure that teaching is consistently good and that the curriculum meets the needs of all groups of pupils.  The rapid expansion of St Columb Minor has been managed extremely well. The school has remained a close-knit community.  Governors hold the school’s leadership strongly to account for raising pupils’ achievement and improving the quality of teaching. They know how well pupils are doing and how leaders are improving teaching across the school.  Pupils enjoy school. They behave well in the classroom and throughout the school day. They say that they feel safe and that the staff look after them well.  Children settle quickly into the early years and make good progress in their first year at school.  Teaching is good across the school. It is strongest at Key Stage 2 where marking and feedback to the pupils are particularly effective.

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This is a good school

 Staff promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural knowledge and development extremely well. Consequently, pupils gain an appreciation of, and respect for, different cultures and traditions. They also show a good understanding of British values.  Pupils achieve well because they make good progress from their individual starting points. By the time they leave St Columb Minor they are well prepared for the next stage of their education.  The school tracks pupils’ progress accurately. Well- trained staff help those pupils at risk of falling behind to catch up. Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs achieve well.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teaching is not yet resulting in pupils making outstanding progress. The effectiveness of marking and feedback to pupils is not consistently good in all year groups.  Not all of the most able pupils are challenged enough in order to achieve their full potential.  Standards reached in grammar, spelling and punctuation are below those in other subjects.  The teaching of phonics (the sounds that letters make) is not yet consistently good.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspection team observed learning in 23 lessons, some of which were seen jointly with senior leaders. Inspectors also observed pupils’ behaviour during breaks and lunchtime.  Meetings were held with the Principal, the Associate Headteacher, the senior leadership team, subject teams, year leaders and class teachers. Inspectors also met the Chair of the Governing Body and four other governors, the special educational needs coordinator and special educational needs, the school improvement partner, the school council and groups of pupils.  Inspectors listened to pupils from Years 2, 3 and 4 read individually.  Pupils’ work was examined during lessons and seen on displays. Inspectors also looked at pupils’ work in their books.  The inspection team looked at a wide range of documents. These included the school development plan, attendance information, the school’s self-evaluation information and minutes of governing body meetings.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors also scrutinised records of how the leadership checks teaching, case studies of individual pupils, safeguarding records, behaviour logs, records of pupil progress, the school’s website, publicity items and newsletters.  Inspectors also looked at the school’s arrangements for spending the additional funding for sport and the pupil premium.  The inspectors took into account the 72 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) and the school’s own records of parental surveys. The inspectors also spoke to a number of parents who requested meetings. They also considered the 37 responses to the staff questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Mark Anderson, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 St Columb Minor is a larger-than-average-sized primary school. The number of pupils on roll has increased significantly in recent years. The school now has a three form entry. An additional Year 4 class started in January 2015 because of increasing demand for places.  There are three classes in Reception, and in Years 1, 2, 3 and 4. There are two classes in Years 5 and 6.  Children in Reception attend full time. The school does not have a nursery.  Most pupils are of White British heritage.  The proportion of pupils who are disabled or have special educational needs is above average. This represents approximately one in six pupils.  The proportion of pupils who receive support from the pupil premium, which is additional funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and for looked after children, is below average. This represents approximately one in eight pupils.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum requirements for

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Information about this school

pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of Year 6.  St Columb Minor Academy is one of the founding members of the Kernow Collaborative Trust which consists of nine local primary and secondary schools.  The school is also a member of the Newquay Learning Partnership.  St Columb Minor converted to become an academy in July 2011. When its predecessor school, St Columb Minor, was inspected by Ofsted in 2010 it was judged to be good overall.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching so that it is outstanding and enables pupils to make rapid progress by ensuring that:  the most able pupils are always challenged in all lessons  marking and feedback to pupils are of a consistently high standard in all year groups  pupils have regular opportunities to practise and strengthen their phonics skills in all subjects.  Improve pupils’ knowledge and use of punctuation, grammar and, especially, spelling in all year groups.

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The leadership and management is good

 The Principal, Associate Headteacher, governors and senior leaders have successfully managed St Columb Minor through an exciting period of rapid expansion and change. Leaders involve all staff in understanding the school’s aims, ethos and goals, so that the whole school is working together in the same direction.  Senior leaders analyse in detail the information relating to pupils’ achievement each half term. Subject leaders look at books to check how well pupils are learning, and use their specialist knowledge to advise their colleagues in their planning. As a result, learning is becoming more sharply focused and pupils’ progress is accelerating.  School leaders have an accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and those areas that need further improvement. The school’s development plan clearly sets out challenging but attainable targets for improvement. These include improving pupils’ performance in grammar, punctuation and spelling, and

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The leadership and management is good

raising the standards reached by higher attaining pupils.  Senior leaders have given specific responsibilities to a large number of staff. This has enabled pupils to benefit from their expertise, involvement and enthusiasm.  Leaders set precise targets for staff and evaluate teachers’ performance accurately. They use pupils’ achievement to help make decisions about pay rises and promotion. School leaders make sure that staff, including those at an early stage of their careers, receive a high level of training and support to improve their teaching.  School leaders have developed the International Primary Curriculum to provide pupils with a wide range of exciting opportunities for learning in a range of subjects, as well as from frequent school trips and events.  The curriculum promotes their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well and encourages good behaviour. Pupils develop a good understanding and appreciation of many different faiths and cultures.

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The leadership and management is good

During the inspection an inspiring assembly gave pupils a fascinating insight into the Muslim faith. Pupils learn to respect all cultures, religions and life styles. This prepares them well for life in modern Britain.  St Columb Minor successfully ensures a fundamental commitment to equality of opportunity and tackling any form of discrimination. This is demonstrated by the good achievement of different groups of pupils. These include disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, as well as lower attaining pupils.  The school has made good use of the additional funding it receives to extend its provision for sport and physical education. Leaders have used the extra money to increase the range of sporting activities and the number of pupils who participate in them. It has also been invested in order to provide effective training for the staff.  The school has established close links with the Kernow Collaborative Trust which has enabled the school

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The leadership and management is good

to share ideas, training, expertise and resources to enhance pupils’ learning.  The school’s arrangements for safeguarding meet all statutory requirements.

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The leadership and management is good

 The governance of the school:  Governors have a good understanding of St Columb Minor’s strengths and areas in need of improvement. They check carefully on pupils’ achievement compared to that of pupils in other schools. Governors make sure that the school’s leadership is doing all it can to ensure ongoing improvement. They also have a good understanding of the quality of teaching. This is because they are regular visitors to the school and receive detailed reports from the Principal. Governors make sure that any pay increases for teaching staff are closely linked to their performance and the achievement of their pupils. The governing body audits the school’s finances extremely carefully and has a detailed understanding of how money is spent and the outcomes of all expenditure. The governors have clear knowledge of the allocation and effectiveness of the pupil premium and additional sport funding. They make sure that the

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The leadership and management is good

school meets all requirements with regard to safeguarding pupils.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. From the time they start school in the Reception Year, children become interested in their learning and have positive attitudes. These factors contribute strongly to the good progress they make as they move up through the school.  Behaviour is well managed. Pupils say they enjoy school and are proud to be at St Columb Minor. They are friendly and well mannered to staff, visitors and to each other. The older pupils are good role models for their younger peers.  Pupils say that behaviour in lessons is typically good, although their learning is interrupted in some lessons by pupils talking when the teacher is addressing the whole class. However, classroom routines are well established and all pupils know the consequences of any lapses in behaviour.  Relationships between adults and staff are strong and, despite the rapid growth in numbers, every individual is known and valued as an individual at St Columb Minor.

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Behaviour

 Pupils take a pride in the presentation of their work and the great majority of pupils are keen to give of their best in all subjects.  The school accurately monitors and records pupils’ behaviour and logs any incidents carefully. There is a strong and successful emphasis on positive behaviour. Pupils are taught to take responsibility for their own actions and conduct. The older pupils are keen to take on responsibilities to help each other and the staff. The school’s ‘Buddy System’ allows pupils from different age groups to get to know each other and for the senior pupils to act as appropriate role models.  Pupils play happily together during breaks and lunchtime and are well supervised. All pupils display good manners in the dining hall and pupils were observed readily helping their peers who accidently dropped cutlery. The school is tidy with no litter. Pupils respect and look after their school environment.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils say that they always feel safe at St Columb Minor and all parents who expressed a view agree. Pupils are confident that any issues that arise will be dealt with promptly and appropriately by their teachers.  Pupils have a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe through the guidance they receive from the school.  Pupils are clear as to what constitutes bullying in its different forms, including cyber bullying. They say bullying does not happen very often at all.  Staff have worked successfully to increase parents’ awareness of the importance of pupils’ good attendance. In doing so, they have improved the overall attendance of pupils but leaders are aware that there is room for further improvement.  Leaders make sure that the school’s arrangements for safeguarding pupils meet all requirements.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The quality of teaching in all areas of the school, including the Early Years, is good. In Key Stage 2 there is a significant proportion of outstanding teaching. Teachers and teaching assistants know their pupils well and manage behaviour effectively in the classroom. Relationships between pupils and their teachers are a clear strength of the school.  The scrutiny of work in pupils’ books showed that, over time, teaching secures good learning and achievement in reading, writing and mathematics.  Teachers set clear and challenging targets. Pupils are aware of what is required of them in a lesson. They are able to decide for themselves how best to achieve their targets and usually work well towards them. In most lessons teachers have high expectations of their pupils and encourage them to give of their best.  Teachers demonstrate high expectations for their pupils’ behaviour, and participation in learning, and their

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The quality of teaching is good

energy guarantee an enthusiastic response. This enthusiasm was seen in a Year 4 history lesson in which the pupils were totally absorbed acting as ‘history detectives’, making comparisons between how things were ‘then’ and how they are ‘now’.  Teachers’ planning is informed by their accurate knowledge of individual pupils’ progress and specific needs. Consequently lessons meet the needs and challenges of the majority of pupils. However, in some lessons the most able pupils are not sufficiently challenged by the work and tasks set. As a result they do not always make the rapid progress of which they are capable.  Teachers use questioning well to check that pupils know what to do before they begin tasks.  Teaching assistants are used well to support pupils, including disabled pupils and those with special educational needs. These pupils benefit from well-planned interventions to support their work and they

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The quality of teaching is good

make good progress.  Pupils feel confident and able to ask for help if they are having difficulties with their work. They also make good use of the informative literacy and numeracy displays on classroom walls to support and extend their learning.  The teaching of reading has significantly improved. Pupils read regularly and enjoy reading for both pleasure and research. The teaching of phonics is not yet consistently good in all classes but recent improvements are already improving pupils’ knowledge and use of letter sounds.  Marking and feedback are of a high standard in Key Stage 2 and inform pupils as to how well they are doing and how to improve their work. The quality of marking in Key Stage 1 is improving but is not yet at the same standard as that in Key Stage 2.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 When children join the school in the Reception classes their levels of skill and knowledge are often below those that are typical for their age. Pupils from different backgrounds make good progress throughout the school. As a result, they reach standards in English and mathematics at the end of Key Stage 2 broadly in line with national averages, preparing them well for the next stage of their education.  From the start of their education at St Columb Minor, the great majority of pupils make consistently good progress in most areas of the curriculum. The solid foundations achieved at the end of the early years are built on and extended throughout Key Stage 1.  The proportion of pupils who attained Level 4 in the national tests in 2014 was in line with the national average in reading, writing and mathematics.  The proportion of the most able pupils who achieved the higher National Curriculum levels at the end of

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The achievement of pupils is good

Key Stage 2 in 2014 in mathematics was slightly above the national average but below average in reading and grammar, punctuation and spelling. The more able pupils do not consistently receive work that is sufficiently well matched to their ability.  A significant number of pupils join the school later in Key Stages 1 and 2. Despite this they make similar progress to the other pupils and achieve the same levels of attainment. The school works extremely hard to provide for the needs of every individual.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs receive a high level of support, make good progress and achieve standards above the national average.  The effective allocation of additional funding has resulted in the gap in attainment between disadvantaged pupils and the other pupils being steadily closed. Pupils receiving this support reach similar standards to other pupils nationally. Pupils who are at risk of falling behind receive targeted one-to-one and small-

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The achievement of pupils is good

group support which has enabled them to catch up with their peers in the school.  Almost all the parents who responded to the Parent View survey agreed that their children are taught well and are making good progress at St Columb Minor.  Pupils’ achievement is not outstanding because pupils make good, rather than outstanding, progress. When pupils make slower progress in lessons, this is often because teachers do not adapt tasks and activities promptly enough to ensure that all pupils are working at the right pace.

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is good

 Children join Reception at St Columb Minor from a large number of pre-school settings. They settle quickly into routines and behave well. All children, including disabled children and those with special educational needs, as well as those who are disadvantaged, make good progress during their first year in school because of good teaching overall.  A significant proportion of children join the Early Years with skills and knowledge below those typical for their age, particularly in communication skills and knowledge of the world.  The management of the Early Years is effective and undergoing restructuring to improve children’s progress and achievement further. New staff have recently been appointed to two of the three early years classes.  By the end of Reception the majority of children have reached a good level of development in almost all areas of their learning and are well prepared for the transition to Year 1.

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is good

 Children learn to work and play, both independently, and with others. They learn the importance of sharing and taking turns when playing with toys and other equipment. Staff create a good balance between tasks that are led by adults and those that children choose for themselves.  Provision is adjusted to suit the needs of different groups of children, although those of higher ability are not always challenged to progress as rapidly as they can.  Teachers and teaching assistants work effectively to meet the needs of individuals. Staff are well deployed and children benefit from a wide range of suitable activities. The progress children make is recorded in detail in individual ‘learning journeys’, which build up a clear picture of their achievements.  The teaching of phonics has improved, although children do not yet have enough opportunities to identify new sounds in familiar everyday words throughout the school day.

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is good

 Safeguarding is effective and the procedures in place ensure children are safe at all times, whether using the indoor or outdoor spaces.  Children are not yet making the sustained and rapid progress that leads to outstanding achievement.

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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 136869 Local authority Cornwall Inspection number 448612

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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 Academy converter Age range of pupils 5−11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 541 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Phil Mason Headteacher Jennie Walker Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Telephone number 01637 873958 Fax number 01637 877772 Email address Secretary@st-columb-minor.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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