Duloe CofE VA Primary Academy

Inspection of a good school: Duloe C of E VA Primary Academy The Green, Duloe, Liskeard, Cornwall PL14 4PW

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Outcome

Duloe C of E VA Primary Academy continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Duloe Primary is part of a small, close-knit rural community. Staff forge strong relationships with parents and pupils. As a result, staff know the pupils and their families very well. As one parent commented, ‘The school is like a home from home.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

Teachers and teaching assistants work effectively to ensure that the curriculum helps pupils to know more and remember more. For example, within the mixed-age classes, pupils regularly receive specific age-appropriate learning. Pupils respond well to the high expectations that adults have of them. Pupils behave well. In lessons, they are attentive and listen carefully to adults. Around the school, pupils show respect for each other.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe and supported in school. They say that bullying and name-calling are rare, and that teachers will deal quickly with any problems. Pupils know that teachers will listen to them. Consequently, pupils are happy to speak to staff about any concerns or worries that they may have.

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

The school’s curriculum is carefully organised and matches the ambition of the national curriculum. The new head of school has supported subject leaders to plan the curriculum carefully in each subject. These curriculums support pupils to develop new knowledge and skills. Teachers recap previous learning well. They make suitable checks to see how well pupils understand what they have learned. Staff use this information to support pupils with any misunderstandings.

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

Leaders use their expertise, and that of outside agencies, to identify the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff put in place suitable support so that pupils with SEND can follow the same curriculum as their peers.

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

Subject leaders’ skills to improve their areas of responsibility are not fully developed. For example, their checks on the impact of the curriculum on pupils’ learning are not 3 November 2021

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thorough enough. Therefore, subject leaders do not have a clear enough picture of what is going well and what could be improved. They have also not identified where further support for teachers would be beneficial.

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Leaders have prioritised the teaching of reading across the school. Well-trained staff begin to teach phonics to children in the Nursery. Daily phonics sessions continue from the start of the Reception Year. Staff choose books carefully to help pupils to practise and build on the sounds that they know. Pupils who need extra help with phonics are supported well. Pupils who find reading challenging are, therefore, growing in confidence. Teachers use carefully selected texts which help pupils to understand and discuss what they have read. To create a love of reading, staff read to pupils regularly. Pupils also explore the choice of books available in the well-stocked library.

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Leaders give pupils many opportunities to learn about the wider world. For example, pupils learn about different religions and different types of families. Pupils understand the importance of respect for all. They appreciate and value differences.

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Pupils take part in charitable fundraising. For example, the school supports a local charity that provides care for families with children with additional needs. Through collective worship, leaders encourage pupils to be caring, thoughtful and confident individuals. Through close links with the parish, leaders develop pupils’ spiritual awareness.

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Pupils are keen to learn. In lessons, they concentrate well. Children in the early years learn new routines quickly and settle happily into school life. During unstructured time, pupils play together cooperatively and move around the school calmly and sensibly.

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The school has experienced significant changes in leadership and governance since the previous inspection. Nonetheless, governors know the school well. They provide the support and challenge needed to improve the school further. Governors have embraced the support from the multi-academy trust to good effect. Staff are proud to work at the school. They say that leaders are considerate of their workload and place great importance on their well-being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have created an effective culture of safeguarding. All staff receive regular safeguarding training. This training helps them to identify potential safeguarding risks. The designated safeguarding lead has established strong links with local agencies to access support for vulnerable pupils and families.

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Safeguarding

Leaders make appropriate checks on staff before they start employment.

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Safeguarding

Through the curriculum, pupils find out about situations that may lead to harm. For example, pupils know that they should speak to a trusted adult if the actions of others make them feel uncomfortable or unsafe. 3 November 2021

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Subject leaders are still developing in their roles. This means that there are gaps in some aspects of their leadership, particularly in evaluating how well curriculum plans are implemented. They do not have the knowledge to identify precisely what actions are needed to further improve the curriculum. Senior leaders should ensure that subject leaders receive the support and training they need to improve their skills in monitoring the effectiveness of the curriculum.

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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 or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, 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 deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the predecessor school, Duloe C of E VA Junior and Infant School, to be good in June 2015.

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View 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. 3 November 2021

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School details

Inspection number 10200929 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

 This is a smaller-than-average sized primary school.  Since the previous inspection, a new head of school has been appointed.  Since the previous inspection, the school has added a nursery class. In addition to the nursery class, there are three mixed-age classes.  The school is part of the Bridge Schools Trust. The trust comprises of 14 primary schools.  The school does not use any alternative education providers.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation.  Inspectors met with the head of school. The lead inspector held a meeting with the chief executive officer of the trust, the executive headteacher, the special educational needs coordinator and two governors. A representative of the diocese attended the final feedback meeting remotely. 3 November 2021

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 Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and art. For each deep dive, inspectors met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  An inspector looked at checks of recruitment processes. The lead inspector spoke with the designated safeguarding lead. Inspectors spoke with staff about their training in safeguarding. They also spoke to pupils.  There were 31 responses to the online questionnaire, Ofsted Parent View. In addition, inspectors considered nine responses to Ofsted’s staff survey.

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Inspection team

Mark Burgess, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Rob Meech Ofsted Inspector 3 November 2021

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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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