Pencoys Primary School

Inspection of Pencoys Primary School Loscombe Road, Four Lanes, Redruth, Cornwall TR16 6RB

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Requires improvement Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not previously inspected 24–25 September 2019

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pencoys is a happy and nurturing school. Staff help pupils from different backgrounds to settle quickly. Pupils feel safe and well cared for. They quickly learn to appreciate others by showing kindness, tolerance and respect. These behaviours are rooted in the school’s ‘Diamond Rules’. Every child feels valued. Leaders do not tolerate bullying. Almost all pupils, staff, parents and carers agree that bullying is rare and is dealt with quickly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. Pupils understand the school’s approach to behaviour management, including sanctions, such as the use of ‘lunch club’. Pupils say these are fair. The high-quality pastoral support, including the involvement of the ‘family champion’, helps to support pupils well. Staff help pupils with their social, emotional and mental health needs.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Nonetheless, the quality of education is not good. Leaders do not plan the curriculum carefully to enable pupils to do well enough in different subjects, including early reading. This means that some pupils are not prepared for the next stage in their education.

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better?

The headteacher leads the school with passion and determination. This is beginning to make a real difference to the school. Pupils’ behaviour and attitudes are good. Leaders make sure that pupils are well equipped socially and emotionally for the world around them. Pupils know how to be good citizens. For example, they enjoy being eco- or school-councillors and want to make a difference. The school plans activities, including clubs, trips and visits, which help pupils to gain in confidence. This is seen, for example, when pupils willingly read books out loud or play musical instruments to their classmates.

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better?

Despite these improvements, pupils do not receive a good quality of education. There has been some recent work to review the school’s curriculum. However, most leaders are only just getting to know their new subject areas. As a result, the curriculum is not designed well enough. Pupils do not secure the building blocks they need to be able to know and remember more. This stops them from learning as well as they could. For example, pupils in Year 5 studying the Second World War are unable to recall facts about previous civilisations that experienced episodes of war or conflict. Leaders recognise this and are taking steps to redesign how each subject is being planned. Weaknesses in the design of what is taught and when it is taught are found particularly in science, history and geography. On the other hand, the teaching of mathematics is effective. The mathematics leader has a clear vision and communicates this effectively. Teachers make sure that pupils make good use of

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better?

known number facts to solve difficult problems. Furthermore, the school’s approach to art and music inspires pupils. This leads to high-quality work in these subjects.

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better?

School leaders are rightly prioritising reading. Pupils are responding positively to 24–25 September 2019

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leaders’ actions to promote a love of reading. For example, visiting authors, shared reading activities and the reading club are working well. These are motivating pupils to read for pleasure. However, the teaching of phonics is weak. Teachers do not assess pupils accurately. This means that phonics sessions and books are not well matched to pupils’ needs, particularly those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and disadvantaged pupils. Pupils who need to catch up are not doing so quickly enough, including those who did not meet the standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check.

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Children receive a warm welcome in Reception. The strong caring ethos helps them to settle quickly. However, the curriculum does not equip them well enough for the next steps in their learning. Also, teachers do not find out quickly enough what the children know (or do not know) in their phonics and understanding of numbers. This particularly hinders disadvantaged children or those who need to catch up quickly.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have improved safeguarding arrangements in the school. Staff appointments and vetting systems are robust and meet requirements. Moreover, staff are well trained. They know what to do to keep pupils safe. Staff are vigilant. Leaders take swift action to refer concerns, follow advice and work well with other agencies.

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Safeguarding

Pastoral care is a strength, particularly in helping pupils with trauma and mental health issues. This work also extends to the well-being of adults, who equally value the nurturing ethos of the school.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Parts of the curriculum are not well planned, particularly in science, history and geography. This means that some pupils do not achieve as well as they should in these subjects. Leaders should ensure that the curriculum is built upon coherent planning and secure subject knowledge.  Phonics sessions and pupils’ phonics books are not matched closely to their needs. This holds too many pupils back, particularly those who need to catch up. Leaders need to provide pupils with a robust and coherent phonics teaching, including in the early years.  Children in the early years do not get off to a prompt start in reading and mathematics. Teachers’ planning needs to be based on an accurate understanding of children’s ability in reading and use of number when they arrive in the school. 24–25 September 2019

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use Ofsted Parent View information when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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How can I feed back my views?

If you’re not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 24–25 September 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10111563 Type of school Primary

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 Since the inspection of the predecessor school in 2013, the school has completed a conversion to academy status in 2016.  The school is now a member of the Crofty Multi Academy Trust.  The school is a one-form entry primary school near the town of Redruth. It serves an area with some socio-economic deprivation. Just under a quarter of pupils are eligible for free school meals.  The school has one Reception class. Children enter with different pre-school experiences, although the majority enter from the independent pre-school which shares the school building.  The governors are in an advanced stage of taking over the running of the pre- school provision.

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Information about this inspection

We carried out this inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors worked closely with several members of staff during the course of the inspection. This included holding discussions with trust leaders (the chair of 24–25 September 2019

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the board and trustees), as well as the chief executive officer and representatives from the local governing board.  Inspectors met with school leaders, including the headteacher, deputy headteacher, and the mathematics, English, science and humanities leaders. The lead inspector also met with those responsible for undertaking routine vetting and checks for safeguarding.  The lead inspector scrutinised information relating to safeguarding, including the single central record.  The inspectors completed deep dives in English, mathematics, science and history. As part of this, inspectors visited lessons and looked at pupils’ work. Inspectors also spoke with pupils to ascertain the depth of their knowledge in different subjects, and their understanding of safeguarding arrangements.  Inspectors spoke with a range of staff, including meal-time assistants, kitchen staff and teaching assistants, to understand pupils’ behaviour at different times of

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the day and to consider workload.  The lead inspector also met with parents and took account of the 32 responses to Parent View.

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Inspection team

Stewart Gale, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Bradley Murray Ofsted Inspector 24–25 September 2019

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regulates and inspects to 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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