Mylor Bridge Community Primary School

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

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Mr C Lea Headteacher Mylor Bridge Community Primary School Comfort Road Mylor Bridge Falmouth Cornwall TR11 5SE

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Short inspection of Mylor Community Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 7 February 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 March 2013.

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Short inspection of Mylor 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 Mylor Community Primary School

You have developed a leadership team that shares your conviction for ensuring that all pupils receive good-quality teaching. You and your team have successfully improved teachers’ subject knowledge and their skills in developing pupils’ behaviour and enthusiasm for learning. As a result, teaching is good and empowers pupils to work hard and achieve well. This has led to the continued success of your school. Staff and pupils at the school really live up to the school motto, ‘The best we can be.’

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Short inspection of Mylor Community Primary School

You have high aspirations for your staff and pupils. Pupils say that they learn a lot in lessons and one pupil commented that, ‘teachers check if you understand your work and go through it again’. The high quality of work on display demonstrates your high expectations and celebrates pupils’ considerable achievements in and out of school. This work also illustrates the wide range of visits the pupils make to places such as the Eden Project, which deepens the enjoyment and quality of their learning. Pupils say that they particularly enjoy this aspect of their learning.

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Short inspection of Mylor Community Primary School

The school is closely involved in the local community. Being part of village life is integral to the ethos of the school, with children, for example, singing at local events. Pupils take part in many fund-raising activities that benefit community groups. However, the curriculum does not do enough to support pupils in preparing them for life after Mylor Bridge by fully developing their understanding of life in modern Britain and British values.

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Short inspection of Mylor Community Primary School

You are aware of the areas the school needs to improve, such as writing at key stage 1, and have set about tackling them swiftly and with vigour. Governors possess a wide range of skills and professional knowledge that allows them to provide the necessary degree of challenge and support to ensure that leaders stay focused on the key issues. Since the previous inspection, the school has worked closely with the Penryn Partnership of schools to develop its strengths. For example, working closely with other teachers and leaders has helped improve the accuracy of teachers’ planning, moderation and assessment. However, the strategic plans to improve outcomes for key groups of pupils who need to catch up are not precise enough.

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Short inspection of Mylor Community Primary School

Pupils in most year groups, regardless of ability or background, generally make good progress in their different subjects. They make a very good start in the early years and continue to be taught well as they move up through the school. Teachers use their subject knowledge confidently to prepare stimulating work that nurtures pupils’ interests. Alongside this, parents are closely involved in their children’s learning as soon as they start school. Pupils demonstrate positive attitudes to learning because they enjoy the work and are curious to know more. Pupils not only behave well in lessons but also between lessons and around the school site. They are polite and respectful to one another and to adults.

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Short inspection of Mylor Community Primary School

A strong culture of safeguarding is evident in the school. You, your governors and your staff take their responsibilities for safeguarding seriously and have ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. Adequate checks are in place to ensure that staff are suitable to work with children. Staff know and understand what they should do if they have concerns about pupils. Records show that staff follow the correct protocols and adhere to appropriate timescales. Records are detailed and of high quality. You are assiduous in working with a range of external agencies to ensure that vulnerable pupils and their families get the support they need. The chair of governors has good oversight of the effectiveness of this aspect of the school’s work. Pupils report that they feel safe. They speak readily of how to keep safe online. For example, some pupils were concerned about the suitability of

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Short inspection of Mylor Community Primary School

some computer games and encourage their peers to play games that are appropriate. Pupils said that they would readily talk to any member of staff if they had any worries.

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Inspection findings

 To establish that the school remained good, one of my key lines of enquiry for the inspection, in agreement with you, was to consider the quality of pupils’ writing. Leaders have been working to address this concern. In both key stages, pupils write regularly and for a range of purposes across the curriculum. Pupils are now better prepared for the greater demands of the current English curriculum. Consequently, expectations of pupils are higher than they previously were. Pupils’ writing reflects the rich vocabulary they have gained through their reading and in lessons. They use their well-honed skills of punctuation and grammar to good effect.  Another focus for the inspection was the progress made by pupils across the full range of subjects. The school has been successful in improving pupils’ progress, particularly in writing at key stage 1. You have strengthened the assessment systems across the school, which show consistency in recording what children

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Inspection findings

know, understand and can do as they move through the school. A new reading system is improving outcomes and encouraging boys in particular to read more often. Teachers are now more able to identify those pupils at risk of falling behind at an early stage and put appropriate support in place to improve their learning. However, leaders’ strategic planning is still not precise enough to be able to identify the support required by some pupils in each year group. This means that these pupils do not always get the extra help they need to catch up with their peers.  During the inspection, it became apparent that pupils received a wide range of educational experiences that enhance their learning. However, the teaching of modern British values is not systematically planned into the curriculum.  The inspection considered how well the school had improved the learning of key groups of pupils. Teachers know the pupils well and provide sufficient challenge

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Inspection findings

and support for all pupils. As a result, most-able pupils make good progress from their starting points to achieve to a high standard. Disadvantaged pupils also make good progress. Achievement in phonics in Year 1 and in the national tests at the end of key stage 1 was above national figures for this group of pupils. The very few most-able disadvantaged pupils achieve equally well as other pupils, especially in mathematics. Governors ensure that additional funding is directed appropriately to support the individual needs of each disadvantaged pupil. They provide regular challenge to ensure that funds are making a difference.  My final line of enquiry focused on the effectiveness of leaders in overseeing the quality of education and outcomes for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Historically, fewer of these pupils have made progress in line with national expectations. The special educational needs coordinator now has a

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Inspection findings

range of strategies in place to help them, which fosters pastoral and emotional development as well as academic progress. Those pupils who previously lacked confidence or were reluctant to engage in lessons now work alongside their peers with confidence and enthusiasm.  Parental engagement and involvement in their children’s learning have also made a difference in the progress pupils make, as has the use of additional adults in the classroom. Pupils are now making progress and catching up with others nationally.  Overall attendance at Mylor Bridge is now in line with the national average. You have taken decisive action where the attendance of particular groups of pupils has been of concern and this has resulted in an obvious improvement for these groups.

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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

 precise planning leads to effective support for pupils who need to catch up to attain in line with national expectations  the curriculum provides more opportunities for pupils to learn about fundamental British values so that they are better prepared for life in modern Britain.

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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 spoke to you and the leaders responsible for literacy, assessment and special educational needs. I talked to a group of pupils and individual pupils around the school, as well as meeting representatives of the governing body. I also had a telephone conversation with a local authority representative. You and I made visits to lessons to observe pupils’ attitudes to learning and took a learning walk around the school. We also scrutinised pupils’ writing and other books across a range of ages and abilities.

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Information about the inspection

I considered a range of documentary evidence, which included the school’s self- evaluation, the school improvement plan, current progress information and pupil attendance information. I also considered safeguarding referrals and child protection records, including the single central record. In addition, I took account of 47 responses to the Parent View online survey.

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