Nanpean Community Primary School

Nanpean Community Primary School St George’s Road, Nanpean, St Austell, Cornwall PL26 7YH

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Overall effectiveness Good

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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This is a good school

 The headteacher, through her exceptional drive and determination, has notably increased the expectations, both of staff and pupils, to raise pupils’ attainment and progress and to improve the quality of teaching and learning.  The most able pupils, particularly in key stage 2, are successfully challenged to raise their expectations of themselves and their aspirations for the future.  Pupils eligible for the pupil premium make progress that is often the same as, and sometimes in excess of, similar pupils nationally and their peers in the school.  The deep subject knowledge of middle leaders in English and mathematics has enabled pupils to be well challenged to extend their learning, particularly in key stage 2.  Governors know the school well. They provide a strong challenge to leaders.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Some pupils are not sufficiently challenged to use their literacy skills, such as phonics (letters and the sounds they make), to improve their writing.  In key stage 1, some pupils do not have appropriate opportunities to write at length across the curriculum.  In recent times, the leadership of the early years foundation stage has not enabled additional staff and parents to play the most active role they could to improve children’s progress.  The monitoring of teaching, learning and assessment by middle leaders is not focused closely enough on identifying what pupils know, understand and can do.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that pupils apply their phonics knowledge when writing extended pieces across the curriculum, especially in key stage 1.  Ensure that school leaders’ monitoring of the impact of teaching, learning and assessment identifies pupils’ knowledge, skills and understanding, and that this information is systematically used to plan pupils’ next steps in learning.  Increase the quality of leadership of the early years foundation stage so that: the most able children are routinely enabled to reach their full capability additional adults and parents can contribute fully to the assessment of learning to aid children’s progress

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The headteacher’s drive and commitment to the school shine through all that she does. Her clear vision and sense of purpose have meant that she has managed growing pupil numbers and the development of the school building while maintaining her focus on the core priority of improving the quality of teaching and learning. She has not shied away from taking challenging decisions while raising the professional expectations placed on teachers.  The headteacher has gained the respect and confidence of the vast majority of parents. As a result, a closer working relationship now exists between the school and parents, as clearly evidenced by the growing numbers of parents electing to send their children to the school.  Middle leaders form an effective team with the headteacher. In the relatively short time that she has been at the school, the assistant headteacher, who also leads on English, has rapidly moved to raise

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

expectations and develop systems and processes to improve the teaching of literacy, particularly in key stage 2.  Subject leaders in English and mathematics, in particular, demonstrate a deep knowledge of their subject which helps them support and improve the practice of colleagues. They both model strong professional practice in the classroom. For example, their skilful questioning means that other adults in the class also question pupils effectively.  Middle leaders are ready and willing to take further action to refine their monitoring of teaching and of pupils’ progress. Currently, the monitoring records of middle leaders do not yet place a clear enough emphasis on what pupils know, their skills or their understanding, so that their next steps can be more clearly identified.  The curriculum provides a good platform for the school’s work to promote pupils’ social, moral, spiritual and cultural learning, and for them to learn about modern British values. Pupils play an active part in

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

school life, for example in the school council and as members of the Rights Respecting School group. They value the wide range of extra-curricular opportunities they have. The school’s leaders and teachers are continuing to refine and adapt the curriculum so that it reflects the needs and interests of pupils.  The additional funding for pupils eligible for the pupil premium and the primary sports funding are well spent. Pupils eligible for the pupil premium across the key stages regularly attain and make progress that is the same as, or better than, their peers and other pupils nationally. The funding for primary physical education (PE) and sports has allowed an increasing range of clubs to be available for pupils and attendance rates have doubled over the past year.  The governance of the school Governors are now effectively challenging school leaders about the attainment and progress of pupils,

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

the quality of teaching, the spending of additional funds for pupils eligible for the pupil premium, and the funding for primary PE and sports. The effective support of an interim chair has helped to strengthen the capacity of governors, in particular that of the now substantive chair of governors. Governors now have a good understanding of their strategic role and contribute well to the overall leadership of the school. Their regular monitoring, which involves all governing body members, challenges the school’s work. For example, the rigorous and regular monitoring of attendance jointly with the headteacher has contributed to improving attendance for all pupils, which is now above that of pupils nationally. Many monitoring activities are carried out jointly with the school’s leaders.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Safeguarding is threaded through the ethos of the school and is a key priority of the headteacher, leaders and governors. All staff have been trained

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

appropriately, and they are clear that they know what to do to support children at risk of harm. Pupils overwhelmingly say they feel safe. The majority of their parents agree, and comment on recent changes, such as new procedures for entering school in the morning, which make them feel that their children are even safer. Leaders know their pupils exceptionally well. They have strong links with outside agencies and use these to pursue rigorously the best outcomes for pupils vulnerable to harm. Procedures to ensure the safe recruitment of staff or volunteers are followed carefully. Clear record-keeping, including risk assessments and logs of incidents, means that leaders are in a good position to follow through their actions to support pupils in need.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 The pupils in this school want to learn. Teaching is now much more closely linked to the needs of pupils than was the case at the last inspection. This is because of the concerted work of the headteacher to raise teachers’ expectations of themselves and of pupils.  Pupils, particularly those in key stage 2, are enjoying the opportunities to stretch their thinking provided by the new mathematics mastery curriculum and the changes to the English curriculum introduced by the new English leader.  Teachers provide consistent marking and feedback to pupils on their work in line with the school’s policy. The best practice provides pupils with an accurate idea of how they can improve their work, and allows them the opportunity to reflect and respond to their teacher’s comments. Where marking and feedback are most effective in mathematics, teachers focus their comments on extending the reasoning and understanding of pupils.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 The planning and development of the new curriculum in mathematics, informed by the deep subject knowledge of the leader in mathematics, are enabling pupils to explore and extend their knowledge and skills in ways that deepen their understanding. For example, pupils in Year 5 were encouraged to develop their thinking about multiplication including money when problem solving, using a scenario linked to the class text they were reading.  Teachers are further adapting the way in which they plan and deliver the curriculum to fit best the needs of pupils at this school. They make effective links to provide for pupils’ social, moral, spiritual and cultural development. For example, recent work to raise awareness of the rights of children world-wide has led to some powerful persuasive writing concerning children in Syria from pupils in Year 6.  Reading is taught well. One of the reasons pupils want to read is because they have access to a wide

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

range of quality reading resources and attractive places to read: for example, each class has its own reading area. Pupils participate enthusiastically in schemes designed to help them read more often, and which also involve parents, such as the Reading Karate scheme. The enjoyment gained from the experience of reading to a ‘pets as therapy’ dog further encourages readers across the range of ages and abilities.  Many teachers and teaching assistants use questioning effectively to challenge pupils’ thinking. However, there were occasions when pupils’ misconceptions, for example about the place value of numbers after the decimal point, were not challenged. This meant that, although pupils could effectively use a method they had been taught, they did not always have a clear understanding of the mathematical thinking behind the method they were using.  The quality of pupils’ writing has improved as a result of better-quality teaching. Where teaching is at its

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

strongest, teachers provide a good model for pupils to follow and this, coupled with the school’s raised expectations of handwriting, presentation and spelling, has improved the progress of pupils in the school.  However, there are occasions, particularly within the earlier years, when pupils are not routinely challenged to use their phonics skills when developing their writing.  Scrutiny of pupils’ written work showed that some, particularly younger, pupils have limited opportunities to use their emerging literacy skills in writing across the wider curriculum.  Teachers and leaders are increasingly using the new assessment systems to track the progress of pupils accurately. This information is fed into the regular pupil’s progress meetings held with each class teacher.  Disadvantaged pupils often make quicker progress from their starting points than their peers and other pupils nationally, due in part to the range of interventions that the school is able to provide.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 Pupils who receive additional help for their learning needs often make faster progress than those with similar starting points because of the skilful support of teachers and teaching assistants.  A clear majority of parents who expressed their views on Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, those spoken to as part of inspection activities feel that their children are well taught and make good progress at the school.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  Pupils display positive attitudes to learning. They enjoy school. They are keen to learn and want to do better. They say they enjoy ‘how enthusiastic everyone is to learn, especially in Year 5 and Year 6’.  Pupils appreciate the efforts teachers go to to make learning interesting. As one pupil said, ‘The new teachers who have come in have worked really hard to make things better.’  Pupils of different ages spoke clearly about their aspirations for the future and the link to their current learning. For example, in the Year 3 and Year 4 class, a pupil described how he needed to become increasingly confident in his mathematics because he wanted to become a doctor and doctors needed to be good at mathematics.  The welfare, social and mental well-being of pupils is a priority. A continuous programme of learning, including the content of the regular whole-school assemblies, reinforces the message for pupils of all ages

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Personal development and welfare

that everyone has the right to be safe and that ‘There is nothing so awful that we can’t talk about it.’ This makes it clear to parents and pupils that the culture of safeguarding is central to the ethos of the school.  Pupils, parents and staff feel strongly that pupils are safe and well looked after at school. Pupils say that bullying is uncommon and that if it has happened adults have dealt with it very swiftly. Pupils who spoke with the inspector are very clear that they know whom to turn to if they have a problem of any nature.  Pupils are aware how to keep themselves safe online through the information and communication technology curriculum and specific e-safety events. Detailed and informative documents on the school’s website help parents to be better informed about e-safety. The school also works well to ensure the safety of pupils within their local context. For example, Year 5 pupils attend a Royal National Lifeboat

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Personal development and welfare

Institution beach safety event, and pupils in key stage 2 attend regular swimming lessons to ensure that they reach the curriculum requirements in this area.  Pupils, including the youngest pupils, understand the importance of healthy eating in having a healthy lifestyle. A healthy snack trolley at breaktimes, the promotion of healthy lunchboxes and opportunities such as the after-school cooking club help pupils to develop their understanding. Pupils say they really enjoy the hot lunch which, as a result of the recent building work, can be cooked on site for the first time.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Pupils feel behaviour has improved and that almost everybody behaves well. They understand clearly the consequences and rewards in the school’s behaviour policy and they enjoy working towards house points and other positive rewards.  Transitions around the school, for example from break to lesson times, in corridors and between elements of the lesson, including in the Reception Year, were calm and purposeful.  In lessons, pupils work well together. This is particularly apparent where teaching strongly challenges pupils’ learning, for example in the innovative ‘classroom of the future’ in Year 5.  However, while pupils rarely disrupt the learning of others, a small number, particularly in key stage 1, can occasionally be distracted from learning and become restless. This is usually the result of teaching that has not inspired them or challenged them to do their best.

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Behaviour

 Pupils are polite and friendly towards adults and each other. They are eager to welcome visitors to their school. For example, members of the school council regularly show visitors, such as prospective new parents, around the school.  Pupils take their responsibilities seriously. The school council is elected annually and plays a prominent part in school life: for example, helping to select the names of the new classes and visiting the local parish council to see how they operate. The range of other opportunities the school provides enables pupils to explore successfully different aspects of becoming responsible citizens. For example, the school council and members of the Rights Respecting School group both monitor aspects of those areas around the school and feedback to adults, such as the headteacher, on what they have found.  The number of pupils who join the school at times other than normal transition is higher than the national

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Behaviour

average. Pupils spoken to said how welcome they feel in the school and how quickly they have settled and made friends. These views were strongly echoed in the comments of parents on Parent View.  The attendance of pupils is higher than that of pupils nationally. There are no pupils who are persistently absent. This is a tribute to the work of leaders and governors with parents to promote and support regular attendance.  In the last two school years and in this current year, the school has not excluded any pupils for a fixed period. The school has not permanently excluded any pupils in at least the last four years.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 From a wide range of starting points, pupils across all key stages are now achieving higher standards and make better progress than formerly.  In the early years and at key stage 1, pupils now achieve at levels at or above other pupils nationally. At key stage 2, pupils achieve at or above the level of pupils nationally, except in writing.  At key stage 2, the proportions of pupils making expected progress is now above those of pupils nationally in reading, writing and mathematics. The proportion of pupils at Year 6 making more than expected progress for their age is also above that of pupils nationally, except in writing.  Pupils who are eligible for the additional funding of the pupil premium attain and make progress which is commonly equal to, and sometimes better than, that of their peers and pupils nationally. Pupils who have additional learning needs are well supported to make strong progress relative to their starting points.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 The proportion of pupils who join the school at a time other than normal transition is higher than nationally. In addition, they can form a sizeable proportion of the small cohorts at key stage 2. Scrutiny of data provided by the school and of pupils’ work shows that they commonly make strong progress in their time at the school. For example, the reading ages of pupils with English as an additional language have risen markedly in the brief time they have been at the school.  The small number of pupils who come from minority ethnic groups make good progress, sometimes in excess of the progress expected for pupils of their age nationally.  The proportion of pupils meeting the required standard in the phonics screening check in Year 1 is rising over time. Pupils across key stage 1, particularly the most able, are now better challenged to extend their phonics learning. However, there are occasions, often in longer pieces of work, when pupils are not

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Outcomes for pupils are good

challenged to use their new skills to develop their writing.  Scrutiny of pupils’ work and observations in lesson show that pupils are making clear progress, including in writing, particularly in key stage 2 and where teaching is challenging them to develop their knowledge, skills and understanding even further.  There has been a clear rise in attainment and progress in writing at key stage 1, and the proportion of pupils attaining the higher levels is now at the national average. However, work scrutiny demonstrated that the strongest impact of the work of middle leaders to improve standards of writing for current pupils is in key stage 2. This is because of a marked rise in the level of teachers’ expectations and challenge for pupils.

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Early years provision is good

 Children in the early years demonstrate positive attitudes to learning. They show a good awareness of the world around them and its needs: for example, the need to be gentle around the growing caterpillars in the classroom.  Children feel safe and secure. They have a strong relationship with the adults around them. Routines are well known and understood, which leads to a calm and orderly atmosphere for learning. Children handle the transition times in the lesson smoothly with little disruption to their learning.  Children in the early years make good progress from a wide range of starting points because teaching has improved over time. The proportion of children reaching a good level of development by the end of the Reception Year has increased steadily over the last three years and in 2015 was above that of children nationally.  Effectively targeted use of the pupil premium has seen the proportions of children reaching a good level

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Early years provision is good

of development rise steadily over time so that now they are in line with similar children nationally.  Children with a range of additional needs, in particular those with speech and language needs, are supported effectively so that they make good progress from their starting points.  Teachers plan activities to engage children’s interest and link across the key areas of learning. For example, in a phonics lesson, children were provided with a range of stimulating activities both inside and outside the classroom to reinforce their learning. However, children, particularly the most able, did not then have the opportunity to apply their emerging literacy skills in writing of their own.  The outdoor area is spacious and secure. However, while children obviously enjoy being able to use the resources in the outdoor area, some activities do not yet provide children with enough opportunities to deepen and extend their learning. The further development of the outdoor area has already been

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Early years provision is good

identified by school leaders as a priority for the school improvement plan.  While the use of assessment to identify the learning needs of children is accurate, there is further work to be done in making sure that additional adults in the early years can contribute effectively to the assessment of learning to aid children’s progress.  Parents value the start their children get in the early years. One said, ‘My son has come a long way since joining Nanpean.’ However, while they have opportunities to contribute to the initial assessments of their children, there is less opportunity for parents to contribute to ongoing assessments over the course of their child’s time in the Reception class.  Following evaluation of its effectiveness, the headteacher has recently assumed the leadership of the early years, thereby increasing the capacity of the school to improve further the quality of provision. She

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Early years provision is good

has a clear view of key priorities for the early years.

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School details

Unique reference number 111899 Local authority Cornwall Inspection number 10017399

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School details

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

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Maintained Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 137 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Kizzy Udy Headteacher/Principal/Teacher in charge Carly Marsden Telephone number 01726 822447 Website www.nanpean.cornwall.sch.uk Email address head@nanpean.cornwall.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 23–24 September 2014

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Information about this school

 Nanpean is a smaller than average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is well below that nationally. There are few pupils for whom English is an additional language.  The number of pupils supported by the pupil premium (additional government money to support pupils in local authority care and those known to be eligible for free school meals) is slightly above the national average. A small number of pupils receive the service premium; this is additional funding to support children in service families. A small number of pupils receive funding because they are subject to local authority care.  The proportion of pupils receiving support for their special educational needs is slightly above the national average. The proportion with an education, health and care plan or statement of special educational needs is above the national average.  The school is increasing in numbers. A Department for Education-funded project has recently been

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Information about this school

completed, which will enable the school to become a one-form entry primary school from September 2016. Currently Reception and key stage 1 are taught in single-year classes, while in key stage 2 Year 3 and Year 4 are taught together, and Year 5 and Year 6 are taught separately in the mornings.  The proportion of pupils who have joined the school at times other than normal transition times is higher than the national average.  In recent years, and in the current Year 5 and Year 6, cohorts are small, well below national averages.  The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.

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Information about this inspection

 Pupils’ learning was observed, jointly with the headteacher, in 10 lessons or part-lessons. A series of learning walks with middle leaders also took place. The inspector listened to pupils in Year 1, Year 3 and Year 6 read, talked with them about their books and gathered their views about their experiences at school.   The inspector held discussions with the headteacher, middle leaders, governors, and members of teaching staff and support staff. Members of the school council were spoken with to gather their views about the school and their learning. The inspector also spoke informally with pupils during lessons and around the school, for example at breaktimes.  The views of 32 parents were analysed from Parent View. Discussions were also held with a number of parents when they dropped their children at the school. The 12 responses to the staff questionnaire were also taken into account.  The inspector considered documentation, including information on pupils’ attainment and progress, the

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Information about this inspection

school improvement plan and minutes of governing body meetings. The school’s records of training, the monitoring of teaching, and information on the management of teachers’ performance were analysed. Policies and procedures for the safeguarding of pupils, including case studies relating to the attendance, behaviour and exclusions of pupils were examined. 

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Inspection team

Sarah O’Donnell, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector guidance 'Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . 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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Inspection team

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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Inspection team

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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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Inspection team

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, further education and skills, 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Inspection team

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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

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