Boskenwyn Community Primary School

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Mrs Paula Quinney Headteacher Boskenwyn Community Primary School Boskenwyn Near Gweek Helston Cornwall TR13 0NG

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Short inspection of Boskenwyn Community Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 12 January 2017, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in May 2012.

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Short inspection of Boskenwyn Community Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection.

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Short inspection of Boskenwyn Community Primary School

Since taking up the post of headteacher in September 2013, you have successfully introduced a new and innovative approach to the way the curriculum is taught. You hold to very high standards and possess a clear vision which is effectively articulated to the whole learning community. You have fully gained the confidence of staff, governors and parents to bring about these changes. Regular checks carried out by you and your staff ensure that you keep up to date with how well pupils are making progress in their learning. Your monitoring indicates that the ‘enquiry-based learning’ (a key characteristic of how pupils learn) is making a positive difference to pupils’ effective engagement in learning. This is an improving picture which has led to work being much better matched to the learning needs of pupils. You have also established strong, professional working relations with the partner school in your federation, and other schools further afield, as well as your

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Short inspection of Boskenwyn Community Primary School

governing body. This has led to effective, well-informed distributed leadership throughout the school. Again, it ensures that teachers effectively plan work to support the learning needs of all pupils.

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Short inspection of Boskenwyn Community Primary School

Governors who spoke with me confirmed their communications with you and the school are strong and well established. Through their regular cycle of formal meetings, as well as informal conversations, governors have developed a clear understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement. All agreed this has been ‘a massive, positive change’ since the previous inspection and brought about following your appointment. As a result, governors are holding the school effectively to account. For example, they have put forward plans to ensure that pupils’ writing remains a key priority for improvement. Meetings between governors and staff are open and relaxed, allowing effective communication and a shared understanding of the school’s work to be established and discussed. All the members of staff who responded to the Ofsted online survey of their opinions strongly agreed that the school is well led and managed.

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Short inspection of Boskenwyn Community Primary School

Parents who met with me said they are very happy with the way the school has improved since your appointment. Comments taken from the Ofsted online survey, Parent View, confirm that you and your staff are doing all you can to work effectively as a team for the benefit of all pupils. The school also experiences high levels of mobility, which it manages well. Parents report that you and your staff ensure that pupils settle quickly to learning on transfer from other schools or settings. Many respondents said they could not speak highly enough of the school. For example, typical comments were: ‘Boskenwyn is a marvellous place, has an amazing atmosphere and wonderful teachers’; ‘… the teachers have picked up on learning support needed and have put so much time into bringing my children up to target level’; ‘Children are encouraged and supported to learn at an appropriate level, but also to challenge themselves, through a wide variety of subjects and

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Short inspection of Boskenwyn Community Primary School

Pupils are safe in the school. A strong culture of safeguarding has been built around a secure knowledge of pupils’ individual needs and any vulnerabilities they may demonstrate. As a very small school, all staff know all pupils very well and are vigilant in spotting any evidence that a child may not be thriving. You and your staff have a very good knowledge of the pupils in your care whose circumstances make them particularly vulnerable. Records show the school is able to provide swift action where necessary and work closely with external partners in order to help pupils to thrive as well as keep them safe. Parents who spoke with the inspector agreed that their children were safe and well cared for while at school. The single central register of checks that are made on the staff’s backgrounds and their suitability to work with children follows the recommended procedure. However, there are one or two areas where compliance with regulatory requirements needs attention. For

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Short inspection of Boskenwyn Community Primary School

example, I found areas where safeguarding records of staff were not completed accurately or in full. They do not compromise pupils’ safety. These gaps were investigated and, where possible, rectified during the inspection. Overall, records show staff and governors are well informed, appropriately trained and regularly updated on changes in safeguarding legislation.

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Inspection findings

 Communication is a strength within the school.  Leaders and managers are working effectively on the areas for improvement identified at the previous inspection. For example, through changes to the way the curriculum is now being taught, teachers are able to match work and the level of challenge more accurately to pupils’ abilities. Pupils who spoke with me said they enjoyed the ‘enquiry-based learning’ opportunities that are a regular part of their learning week. This approach is allowing pupils to write at length and for a wide range of audiences. It also allows them to take greater control of their learning, which is helping them to understand what they need to focus on in order to make better progress and achieve their targets.  The standard of pupils’ presentation of work in books is too variable. Pupils’ handwriting skills and presentation are not taught consistently throughout the school. As a result, a joint scrutiny of pupils’ work, with the headteacher and

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Inspection findings

teachers, found older pupils were not confident in joining their letters and pupils often wrote with a blunt pencil, which had a detrimental effect on letter formation and the overall presentation of work.  Teachers make the most of working with colleagues from their partner primary school. This allows them to share resources and expertise as well as gain a more accurate knowledge of pupils’ current standards of work. Teachers are skilled at empowering pupils to engage with their learning in meaningful ways. Pupils’ targets for mathematics and English are set regularly and reviewed with the full participation of pupils.  Middle leaders are diligent in carrying out checks on pupils’ learning and progress. Their subject knowledge and ongoing professional development is effectively supported through links with other schools in a local trust. They have regular opportunities to update their training by visiting these schools to learn

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Inspection findings

about new ways of working and to compare standards of pupils’ work.  Pupils who met with the inspector all spoke positively about their time at school. They all said they felt safe in school and agreed that their teachers were helpful and approachable. ‘You get a lot of attention from your teachers,’ said one pupil. Pupils were enthusiastic in talking about the enquiry-based learning they take part in each week. ‘We like being able to take responsibility for our learning’ was a typical comment agreed by the group. Pupils are appropriately taught about how to use the internet safely and personal safety. Pupils were able to explain to the inspector how teachers help them to learn and said they found the written comments provided by teachers in their books helpful. They agreed that they liked being in a small school because it is ‘a calm place to learn’ and ‘the food is amazing!’  The school has gained a reputation for providing good support for pupils who

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Inspection findings

have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Leaders also maintain very clear records for individuals and disadvantaged pupils who benefit from additional resources through the pupil premium funding. The interventions teacher works closely with class teachers and uses her expertise to help teachers adapt their planning appropriately. Regular assessments lead to well-planned interventions and challenge for individuals in class. However, the learning and progress of the most able pupils, as a discrete group, is not monitored in similar detail. As a result, the progress made by the most able pupils is not quite so consistent. Current school data indicates that too few are working at greater depth or achieving the higher levels they should be capable of in reading, writing and mathematics.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 staff hold the highest expectation for pupils’ work presentation, particularly in regard to helping pupils to improve their handwriting, spelling and grammar skills  detailed checks are carried out on how well the most able pupils are progressing, so that work set enables more to achieve the higher levels of which they are capable  the monitoring of safeguarding records and processes are carried out regularly and in greater detail.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Cornwall. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, I met regularly with you throughout the day as part of a professional dialogue. I also met with representatives of the governing body, including the chair. I held meetings with teachers and spoke informally with staff during the day. I undertook observations of learning in lessons with you and with teachers. We examined pupils’ work, focusing on writing and presentation. Before the inspection, I examined a variety of documents made available by the school, including the school’s website, published performance data and a summary of its self-evaluation. I spoke to parents at the start of the day and also took into account 20 responses to the online survey, Parent View, and six responses to the staff survey.

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Information about the inspection

The inspection focused on the following key lines of enquiry:

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Information about the inspection

 How well has the school addressed the areas for improvement identified at the time of the previous report? These were: – matching work and the level of challenge to pupils’ abilities – the development of pupils’ writing, handwriting and presentation skills.  How effectively have changes to the curriculum been embedded in order to support pupils of all ages and abilities to achieve?  How well are leaders and managers monitoring the work of the school and holding it effectively to account?  Is safeguarding effective?

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