Tregolls Academy

Inspection of Tregolls School - an Academy Chellew Road, Truro, Cornwall TR1 1LH

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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 Good Previous inspection grade Good 14–15 January 2020

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have not thought carefully about what pupils need to learn and when within the curriculum. Consequently, pupils are not building a body of knowledge that prepares them well for new learning.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils attend regularly and enjoy school. Older pupils hold positions of responsibility that help them to understand leadership. There are librarians, school parliamentarians and play leaders. Pupils take part in sports, music and drama clubs. Staff ensure that disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) attend these as often as their peers. Staff are keen for pupils to experience life beyond their neighbourhood. They promote trips to Europe, as well as other places of interest.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The area resource base on the school site provides a successful haven for pupils with highly complex SEND needs. The well-trained staff support these pupils to learn well. These pupils are part of the whole school community and join lessons in the main school whenever possible.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has a one-word ethos, ‘respect’, which everyone understands and practises, from Nursery to Year 6. Pupils are polite to each other and staff. Occasionally, some pupils get overexcited and lively, but they respond well to staff when checked.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ safety is a high priority for staff. Skilled staff ensure that no pupils are at risk. Bullying is rare and dealt with efficiently on the few occasions that it happens.

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better?

Staff are ambitious for the pupils to succeed. The new headteacher understands the strengths of the school and commitment of staff. She is dealing sensitively with weaknesses in the curriculum. She has been quick to share the necessary changes with staff and governors. Her decision to focus on respect as a single school rule is an example of this. Pupils’ behaviour, especially during breaktimes, has improved as a result.

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better?

Leaders have not considered how pupils learn subjects over time. There has been a focus on engagement and excitement but at the cost of effective progression in the curriculum. Teachers’ planning is sometimes haphazard and so some lesson activities do not build on pupils’ prior knowledge. For example, pupils hold misunderstandings about real history and myths as these are muddled together in the curriculum. Similarly, scientific theories are not explored in an age-appropriate way but delivered superficially.

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better?

Planning in mathematics and physical education (PE) has been more successful. Leaders realised that pupils were not understanding mathematics, especially how 14–15 January 2020

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to use their mathematical knowledge to solve problems. Teachers have received training and are following a scheme which progresses logically so that pupils learn and recall more over time. The well-qualified specialist teacher in PE has enabled pupils to develop their sporting skills well. In addition, she has trained staff and improved their confidence in teaching PE. There has not been the same level of oversight in other subjects. Leaders have not provided effective training for staff whose subject knowledge is weak. Consequently, teachers do not pick up on pupils’ misunderstandings and so errors continue.

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From Nursery to Year 2, pupils learn phonics systematically. Pupils use these skills to read well. Teachers match reading books to the sounds that pupils learn most of the time. Older pupils are not given the same support and guidance in reading. Consequently, some pupils are not choosing reading books wisely. This limits their reading.

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Children make a strong start to their education in the Nursery. Skilled leaders care and nurture children, as well as improving their vocabulary. Children from Nursery and Reception play together outside so children move seamlessly into Reception as they get older.

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Early years leaders ensure that children develop physically, socially and academically. However, some of the curriculum planning in Reception lacks precision. This is particularly true for the most able children. The same lack of curriculum challenge for extending the thinking of the most able happens elsewhere in the school, too.

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Pupils are keen to learn and when the teaching is effective, pupils behave well. When teachers have poor subject knowledge and are unsure what pupils need to learn and remember, many pupils lose concentration, and some misbehave.

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Pupils’ personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE) follows a progressive curriculum which supports pupils having a correct perception of healthy living and what is right and wrong. As pupils get older, they develop a stronger understanding of the fundamental British values. Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.

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Leaders check that disadvantaged pupils are keeping up with the curriculum. They make sure that disadvantaged pupils are able to attend the extra-curricular clubs if they want to. The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) provides effective guidance to teachers about pupils with SEND. She checks regularly that these pupils are learning well.

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Governors are becoming more strategic in their thinking. They make sure pupils are safe and offered equal opportunities. However, they have not been holding leaders to account sufficiently for the quality and implementation of the curriculum. 14–15 January 2020

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff receive training on the most recent guidance from the Department for Education. They are vigilant in noticing any signs of concern regarding vulnerable pupils. Staff understand the requirement to inform safeguarding leaders immediately so that necessary steps are taken to protect pupils. The designated safeguarding lead works well with local agencies.

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Safeguarding

The site is secure, and pupils are safe. Leaders check recruitment procedures thoroughly.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders, including governors, are ambitious for pupils and wish them to achieve well. However, there is a lack of accountability within leadership. Monitoring has taken place, but it has not had enough impact. Consequently, the implementation of the curriculum varies too much across the school. Pupils, especially the most able, are not learning well. Curriculum leaders must take responsibility for training staff whose subject knowledge is weaker so that pupils accumulate knowledge effectively.  Although leaders have provided training and support to teachers in phonics and mathematics, pupils are not yet receiving a suitable curriculum in other areas. Leaders need to ensure that the curriculum in every subject is sequenced effectively so that pupils can build on prior learning and remember more.  Leaders have focused on reading this term. The literacy leader has made sure each classroom has a reading corner with a selection of books. Despite this,

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

some pupils in key stage 2 are not reading regularly or choosing books wisely. Leaders must monitor reading for every pupil more carefully.

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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 are the school and you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted . 14–15 January 2020

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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. 14–15 January 2020

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School details

Inspection number 10058320 Type of school Primary

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School details

Date of previous inspection 7 March 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The chair of the trust was appointed in February 2019. The headteacher was appointed in September 2019.  The school is sponsored by Penair School and has been since 2012. There are six additional primary schools sponsored by Penair but this is not a multi-academy trust (MAT).  There is an area resource base on the site of the school. There are 10 pupils with highly complex needs who attend.  The school does not use any alternative providers but does offer horse riding to some pupils with SEND, supervised by school staff.

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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

 We talked with groups of pupils from key stage 2, as well as with other pupils informally across the school. 14–15 January 2020

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 We held meetings with the headteacher, curriculum leaders, teachers, members of the trust, the SENCo and the designated safeguarding lead.  Documentary and other types of information were evaluated, including evidence relating to safeguarding.  We did deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, science, PSHE, PE and humanities. This involved talking to leaders, teachers and pupils. We also visited lessons and looked at pupils’ work.

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Inspection team

Kathy Maddocks, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

David New Ofsted Inspector 14–15 January 2020

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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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