Trannack Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Trannack Primary School Trannack, Helston, Cornwall TR13 0DQ

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Outcome

There has been no change to this school’s overall judgement of good as a result of this initial (section 8) inspection. However, the evidence gathered suggests that the inspection grade might not be as high if a full inspection were carried out now. The next inspection will therefore be a full (section 5) inspection.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils respond very well when expectations from staff are high, but this is not consistently the case. Although pupils behave well in lessons and around the school, older pupils are not expected to contribute to lessons or work as hard as they should. All pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are included in all parts of school life. However, pupils are not consistently challenged or supported in their learning as much as they should be. Sometimes learning is too hard and other times it is too easy.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils rightly said that their school feels like one big family. Staff and pupils are friendly. Everyone looks out for each other. Pupils said that bullying is very rare and on the very rare occasions when friends fall out or bullying happens, the staff sort it out quickly. This helps pupils to feel safe and cared for.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils appreciate the wider learning opportunities they receive. They talked very positively about learning outside and in the woods. They also like the trips and visits they go on.

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

Some parts of the curriculum are not planned or taught well. For example, mathematics planning is not sequenced well. As with a number of subjects, the use of assessment is underdeveloped. This means that the delivery of the mathematics curriculum is too varied. Pupils, including those with SEND, sometimes develop misconceptions. These are not addressed swiftly. For other pupils, the work in mathematics is not challenging. Therefore, pupils’ learning in mathematics is not as secure as it should be.

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

Recent changes in leadership are beginning to bring about improvements. For example, the new executive headteacher is helping to accelerate improvements. The new special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) is identifying precisely what is going well and where improvements could be made. She is rightly looking to improve how pupils with 10 November 2021

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SEND have their needs identified. Consequently, leaders, including governors, now know the school well. Their plans for improvement are relevant and useful. Nevertheless, leaders’ impact remains limited because many have only just joined the school. Despite some strengths in provision, several weaknesses remain.

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Leaders are improving planning in subjects like history and geography. However, their work on this is very recent. The curriculum in these subjects is developing. As a result, pupils’ learning in these subjects is disjointed.

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Children make a flying start in the early years. Early years leaders plan an ambitious curriculum that helps children to make strong progress. Staff make the most of the engaging indoor and outdoor learning areas. They capture children’s interests and meet their needs. Children are encouraged to make the most of every learning moment. This means that children are very well prepared to move into Year 1.

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The leadership and teaching of reading are very effective. Reading lessons are given priority. As soon as children enter Reception, they begin to learn phonics. Pupils who need the most help with their reading benefit from expert teaching. When staff teach phonics, their expectations are high. They make very effective use of a robust programme to teach early readers. Pupils learn their sounds and how to blend, and begin to read independently.

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Early readers take home carefully chosen books. This allows them to practise the sounds they have learned in class and quickly gain confidence. Teachers instil a love of reading among pupils. For example, some pupils love being rewarded with ‘reading karate bands’. Others are inspired by books their teachers read to them. Consequently, pupils make rapid progress and learn to love reading.

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The curriculum promotes pupils’ personal development well. Staff ensure that pupils have a rich experience of their local and wider community. For example, pupils regularly visit places of interest and learn in their local woodland. In lessons, pupils discuss beliefs and values through personal, social and health education. This helps to develop pupils’ spirituality and prepares them for life in modern Britain.

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Staff are proud to work at Trannack school. They recognise that the new executive headteacher is having an impact. They feel that leaders consider their well-being, despite expecting more of them. Most parents are also positive about the school. Some parents feel that they are not listened to. Others feel that behaviour is not managed properly. However, inspectors saw pupils behaving exceptionally well in and around the school. They also found that pupils who struggle to manage their own behaviour make marked improvement over time.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 10 November 2021

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The leadership of safeguarding is strong. Leaders know their local setting and the related challenges very well. Leaders have strong systems for managing safeguarding and responding to these challenges.

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Staff receive useful training. They understand their responsibilities. Concerns are recorded consistently and followed up in a timely fashion. Leaders take appropriate action if they are unhappy with responses from other agencies.

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Appropriate checks are made when new staff are appointed. These are recorded appropriately on a single central register. Leaders follow statutory guidance effectively.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Expectations of what pupils can achieve are too varied. Expectations are too low of pupils in upper key stage 2 and in mathematics. Leaders should ensure that staff have consistently high expectations of pupils, so that they learn more and do their best in all subjects.  Subject leadership is not consistently strong. Consequently, some parts of the curriculum are not as well-sequenced and taught as others. Leaders should secure greater consistency in subject leadership, particularly in mathematics.  In several subjects, the curriculum is not helping pupils to build on and remember what they are taught. Leaders should accelerate their work to improve the impact of the new curriculum plans. They should also ensure that staff are clear about what they want pupils to learn, and when, in each subject.  Assessment is not used well enough across the curriculum. As a result, teachers provide work that is sometimes too easy and at other times too hard for different

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

pupils. Teachers do not check how well pupils remember what they have learned in all subjects. Therefore, leaders should improve how assessment is used to inform curriculum planning so that lessons consistently build on what pupils know and can do.

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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. 10 November 2021

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This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the predecessor school, also called Trannack Primary School, to be good in May 2017.

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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. 10 November 2021

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School details

Inspection number 10200934 Type of school Primary

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School details

Website https://trannack.eschools.co.uk/website

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 Trannack Primary is much smaller than the average primary school. There are currently three classes.  The academy has 68 pupils on roll, including three children in the pre-school.  In September 2021, a new executive headteacher was appointed. In November 2021, a new SENCo started at the school.  The academy is part of the Southerly Point Co-operative Multi-Academy Trust. There are 18 other schools in the trust.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this inspection under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection of 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 senior and subject leaders, including the executive headteacher. They met with the SENCo, who also works at other schools within the trust. Inspectors 10 November 2021

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met with three representatives of the local governing body, including the chair. They met with the chair of the trustees and the chief executive officer.  Inspectors did deep dives into three subjects: English, mathematics and history. They met with senior and subject leaders, teachers and pupils. Inspectors also visited lessons and scrutinised pupils’ work and talked to pupils. They reviewed some subject planning and spoke to leaders about other subjects.  Inspectors analysed 15 responses to Parent View (Ofsted’s online parents’ survey) and nine responses to the staff survey.  Inspectors analysed school documentation, including leaders’ evaluations and plans for improvement, and paperwork relating to the work of the local governing body. They scrutinised a range of policies and procedures, including those that relate to the curriculum.  Inspectors reviewed safeguarding arrangements by meeting with the designated

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safeguarding lead, reviewing safer recruitment processes, and speaking to staff and to pupils. Inspectors also scrutinised school policies and information on the website. They discussed governance arrangements, records of concern and links to other agencies.

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Inspection team

Matthew Barnes, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Donna Briggs Her Majesty’s Inspector 10 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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