Dobwalls Community Primary School

Inspection of Dobwalls Community Primary School Duloe Road, Dobwalls, Liskeard, Cornwall PL14 4LU

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Personal development Requires improvement Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005 28–29 January 2020

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What is it like to attend this school?

Although pupils are keen to learn, teachers’ expectations of what pupils can do are not consistently high enough. While academic standards are rising, leaders have not yet organised the curriculum well enough to promote consistently good learning over time. As a result, pupils have limited knowledge in some subjects. They sometimes struggle to remember what they have learned. On the other hand, pupils are becoming better readers than in the past.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils like school and the range of experiences it provides for them, notably in sport. They know that staff care for them and want the best for them. Pupils behave well, and attendance is good. However, pupils sometimes lose concentration and low-level disruption can occur. Bullying does not happen often. If it does, most pupils said that adults would help them sort it out. Although pupils take pride in their work, they are capable of achieving more. For example, the quality of writing across all subjects is not consistently good.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils know how to stay safe online. They can talk with confidence about the teaching they have had on blocking, reporting and telling a trusted adult such as a teacher or parent.

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better?

Despite some improvements in academic standards in recent years, leaders have not yet ensured that pupils receive a consistently good education across all subjects. Taken as a whole, the curriculum is not as coherently planned, organised or monitored as it needs to be. As a result, pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are not learning as well as they should.

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better?

Expectations in the mathematics curriculum are not high enough. The curriculum does not help pupils to deepen their knowledge and understanding well enough. Leaders have not given enough consideration to what pupils need to learn and when. Consequently, teaching is not ensuring that pupils are learning consistently well in mathematics.

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better?

Pupils with SEND do not always get the support they need. Teachers’ planning sometimes does not consider how to support these pupils well. At times, teaching assistants are unclear about the needs of individual pupils they are working with.

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better?

Children in the Reception class have a curriculum that encourages them to solve problems and work together. However, beyond phonics, the teaching of reading is weaker. This is also true of mathematics. Children are not remembering enough of what they need to know before starting in Year 1. This limits what the most able pupils can learn in key stage 1. Staff are not sufficiently knowledgeable about early mathematics, so children do not have a strong basis for more complex learning. 28–29 January 2020

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Reading has been a priority for the school. Pupils say they enjoy reading. The new phonics programme has had a positive impact on pupils’ ability to read. Teachers consider pupils’ development in phonics carefully. Consequently, pupils are making better progress in phonics. However, leaders have not given the same attention to other curriculum areas, including some wider aspects of reading. This has led to weaker learning in some other subjects.

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The improvements in phonics teaching demonstrate that leaders have the capacity to improve the school. Trust leaders are aware of the issues that need to be addressed, but this is not fully understood by the local governing board. Governors do not have a clear enough picture of how well the school is doing. They have not monitored the curriculum effectively enough so that they understand the quality of education being provided to pupils.

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While pupils are not developing a fully secure understanding of topics such as democracy or why we have laws, other aspects of their wider development are promoted well. For example, pupils across the school have many opportunities to develop their sporting abilities. They participate in county-wide sporting events and a wide range of after-school sports clubs.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders train staff to identify risks to pupils’ welfare. Staff record concerns and they know to whom to go, even if their concerns are only minor. However, leaders have more to do to ensure the identification of pupils requiring early help.

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Safeguarding

Leaders make sure that recruitment procedures are stringent. The school ensures that they appoint adults suitable to work with children. Children believe the adults keep them safe in school. The parents and carers who responded to Parent View are confident that their children are safe in school.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some areas of the curriculum, teachers’ expectations are not high enough. This can impede pupils learning what they need to know. Leaders need to ensure that expectations across the curriculum are as high as they are, for example, in the phonics programme.  The curriculum is not as well structured as it needs to be. This means that learning in some areas is not as strong as it is in others. Leaders need to ensure that the curriculum is well sequenced in every subject so that pupils build a secure knowledge base over time. 28–29 January 2020

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 The curriculum is not consistently well implemented for pupils with SEND. This can impede their progress. Leaders need to ensure that teaching helps pupils with SEND achieve as well as their peers.

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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 .

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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. 28–29 January 2020

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School details

Inspection number 10122353 Type of school Primary

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School details

Website http://www.dobwalls.cornwall.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school joined the South East Cornwall Multi Academy Regional Trust (SMART) in March 2017. There are three secondary and three primary schools in the MAT.  The headteacher was not in school at the time of the inspection.

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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 did deep dives in reading, writing, mathematics and physical education. We met with senior leaders and curriculum leaders, conducted lesson visits, spoke with pupils and teachers and considered pupils’ workbooks.  We spoke with the chair and vice-chair of the local governing board. We spoke to the chair of the board of trustees and the chief executive officer (CEO) of the trust.  We met with the deputy designated leader for safeguarding. We considered how well staff maintain pupils’ safety and checked the school’s single central record. 28–29 January 2020

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 We analysed behaviour logs, attendance information and met with the SENCo to discuss the types of support available for pupils with SEND.  We considered responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, and, alongside this, we considered responses to both the staff and pupil surveys. We spent time talking to staff and pupils throughout the two days.

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Inspection team

Heather Barraclough, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Tonya Hill Ofsted Inspector 28–29 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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