Boyton Community Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Boyton Community Primary School Boyton, Launceston, Cornwall PL15 9RJ

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Outcome

Boyton Community Primary School continues to be a good school. However, inspectors have some concerns that standards may be declining, as set out below.

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What is it like to attend this school?

At Boyton, staff work together to provide a welcoming environment for pupils to learn. More parents now see Boyton as the school of choice for their children. Pupils learn in classrooms that are bright and colourful, and have displays which celebrate their work. Children in early years learn well. The exciting outdoor area helps them to be curious and independent.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy being part of this small school where everyone knows them. Teachers widen experiences for pupils through visits and events with other schools. Recently, pupils had a day to learn about the school’s values. Pupils show respect to each other and are learning to persevere.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe in school. They know who to talk to if they have worries. They don’t feel there is any bullying. They say it would be quickly sorted out if it happened.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are polite and well-behaved in lessons. They say they enjoy learning in every subject, but particularly art. A few pupils, however, struggle with behaviour around the school. Staff generally support these pupils well in class. Pupils say more falling out happens in the playground where pupils get ‘wound up’. We saw that while most play is good-natured, pupils are boisterous in the playground. Staff do not always stop such play quickly enough.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders know there is much work to do to improve the curriculum. They are beginning to draw up plans which show more clearly what pupils should know at different ages. They are organising knowledge into worthwhile topics such as ‘Kernow’ for next term. They agreed with inspectors that the work is at an early stage. 7 November 2019

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The school’s current plans for many subjects are not clear or not used well enough. Teachers are not confident of what to teach and when. They are not sure what pupils remember from previous learning.

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This term’s topic on space has interested pupils but has not added to their knowledge in the way leaders hoped it would. Teachers have tried to link ideas about space together, but this has not led to pupils knowing and remembering more. Plans for geography are not matched to what pupils, particularly those in key stage 2, should know. Teachers have spotted this. This week, some teachers taught lessons from next term’s topic. Pupils enjoyed the new geography lessons on their county. They responded well to the higher expectations. However, the thread of learning across geography and both topics has become confused.

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The school works with others in the Duchy Academy Trust. Skilled academy leaders of teaching and learning help the school to strengthen teaching and the curriculum. Teachers value this expertise. However, school leaders do not always follow up advice well enough. They do not think how new ways of teaching need to change to fit a small school. This is particularly the case in the teaching of reading.

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Across key stages 1 and 2, teachers are introducing pupils to appropriate books in daily reading lessons. However, they are reading the same books and asking the same questions of pupils from across a number of year groups. The older pupils, and the most able pupils, are not challenged in their learning. Some younger pupils in the class do not learn well because the work and the reading books are too hard. Teachers realise that the new planning needs to change but have not yet worked out how to do it.

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In early years, children learn the sounds that letters make. Children already know many sounds and join them together to read simple words. Pupils continue this good learning across Years 1 and 2. However, teachers do not check pupils’ knowledge of sounds well enough when reading with them. Books that pupils use to practise their reading have too many new lengthy words. Pupils then cannot remember what they have read. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) who have extra teaching to catch up are also hampered by books which are too hard.

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Leaders have been much more successful with developing the curriculum for mathematics. They checked and found that pupils did not know enough about solving mathematical problems. They changed the way they taught them. Pupils show in their books and lessons that they are learning new things quickly. Teachers and teaching assistants have had good training in teaching mathematics. They are helping pupils, including those with SEND, to catch up. The most able pupils relish the independence to work through more demanding activities.

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Staff in the early years unit understand the needs of two-year-old children well. They check children’s development accurately and plan well for children’s learning and care. 7 November 2019

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders carry out all recruitment checks and ensure that they record them accurately. Staff are fully trained in matters of safeguarding. They are vigilant in identifying if a pupil is vulnerable. They use the school’s procedures to record any concerns fully and pass on any concerns. Leaders review concerns and seek help for pupils and their families from outside agencies. Currently, the senior safeguarding role falls to three leaders. Leaders meet to review the actions they have each taken. However, the recording of actions is not always clear or in chronological order.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders know there is a lack of coherence and clarity in the school’s curriculum planning. They have begun to work with other schools to sequence knowledge in meaningful topics. They need to complete this work and ensure that all levels of planning build towards pupils knowing and remembering more. Leaders need to check that teachers understand how to use the plans well.  Senior and subject leaders in school are not using the skilled advice from academy teaching and learning leaders well enough. They do not review and adapt new schemes of work to fit a small school. They are not clear if teachers are following plans or if teaching is moving pupils towards the targets set for them. Leaders need to monitor the quality of teaching and the curriculum more carefully. They need to be confident that teaching meets pupils’ needs, particularly for the most able and those pupils who need to catch up.  The teaching of reading comprehension across key stages 1 and 2 does not take

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

sufficient account of the range of ability in each class. Teachers cannot check what pupils of different ages and ability know and need to learn next. Teachers’ expectations are too similar for pupils with widely different abilities. Leaders need to review this urgently if pupils are to read and understand well.  Teachers choose books to read to the class carefully. However, they need to check that pupils’ personal reading in school is deepening their knowledge of the best that has been written. Younger pupils, and those with SEND, need books which allow them to develop fluency and practise sounds they are learning in class.  The recording of incidents of misbehaviour needs to be more systematic. Records of all behaviour incidents, particularly those in the playground, are not analysed and reviewed regularly by governors. This needs to happen to show if actions to help pupils who have challenging behaviour are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Different leaders assume the role of the designated safeguarding lead across the week. The chronology of concerns raised by staff, and actions taken by leaders, needs to be sharper. All leaders need to apply a consistent approach to seeking help and recording they have done so. 7 November 2019

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called a section 8 inspection of a good school or non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that the school could now be better than good or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged Boyton Community Primary School to be good on 7–8 October 2015.

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How can I feed back my views?

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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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. 7 November 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10107599 Type of school Primary

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School details

Date of previous inspection 7–8 October 2015

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Information about this school

 Since the previous inspection, the school has extended its age range. It provides education for pupils from two years of age within a foundation stage class.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors met with the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Duchy Academy Trust and held a telephone conversation with the chair of the trustees. Inspectors discussed the work of the school with the executive headteacher and other school leaders.  We did deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and geography. We discussed teaching and the curriculum with leaders, made visits to lessons and reviewed pupils’ work.  The lead inspector read with three groups of pupils and heard others read as part of their lessons. She reviewed teachers’ records of pupils’ reading.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in class. An inspector observed behaviour in the lunch hall and playground. The school’s behaviour logs were reviewed. Inspectors spoke to the pupils formally and informally to gather their views of the school. 7 November 2019

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 Inspectors evaluated the effectiveness of safeguarding through discussions with leaders and reviewing case files. They scrutinised the school’s policies and the checks made on people who work in school.  Inspectors took account of parents’ views of the school through the 14 responses to the Ofsted survey, Parent View. They reviewed the comments parents made on the survey. An inspector spoke to parents as they brought their children to school.  Inspectors considered the 24 responses from pupils to the survey issued at the start of the inspection. Inspectors discussed well-being with a group of teachers and met with a member of staff at their request. They considered the nine responses to the staff survey.

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Inspection team

Wendy Marriott, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Ann Cox Ofsted Inspector 7 November 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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