Carclaze Community Primary School

fdcvgxr vb Inspection of Carclaze Community Primary School St Piran’s Close, St Austell, Cornwall PL25 3TF

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Inspection dates: 9 and 10 November 2021

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 9 and 10 November 2021

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils, parents and staff agree that Carclaze is a special place to learn. Pupils thrive in an inclusive culture where everyone is valued. They have positive attitudes to their learning. Pupils are excited to talk about reading, and they share the view that ‘reading is amazing because it takes me to places I’ve never been to’. Leaders’ focus on reading is central to the school’s success. Everyone in the school shares the view that ‘reading is like breathing’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff know pupils very well. As a result, pupils feel safe because they know who to go to with any worries. Pupils behave well. They are clear that bullying is rare. If it happens, pupils say it is dealt with quickly and sensitively. The relationships between pupils and staff are strong.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have high expectations for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils enjoy attending school because teachers deliver a well-planned and relevant curriculum. Older pupils take pride in looking after pupils who are new to the school. Leaders have thought about how to develop pupils into responsible citizens. This means that they are well prepared for life beyond school.

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better?

Staff are proud to work at Carclaze School. Teachers motivate pupils to do their best. Subject leaders have strong curriculum expertise and work effectively as a team. Staff and pupils are inspired by the headteacher to be the best that they can be. Parents appreciate leaders and teachers being approachable. It is a common view of parents that this is a caring school. They feel issues are quickly resolved. Pupils with SEND are supported well and included in all aspects of school life. The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) ensures that parents are fully involved in decisions about their child.

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better?

Leaders place reading at the heart of everything they do. All staff are trained well in the teaching of phonics. This means that pupils receive high-quality targeted support when they need it. Pupils’ reading books are matched to the sounds they know. Consequently, pupils develop into confident and fluent readers. The whole school community shares a love of reading. However, in the early years foundation stage (EYFS), children’s language and communication skills are not developed as well as they could be. Children are not given sufficient opportunities to practice and develop this key knowledge sufficiently.

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better?

Pupils are taught an ambitious and well-planned mathematics curriculum, including in the EYFS. Teachers skilfully use assessment to check what pupils know, understand and can do. Teachers adapt their teaching to ensure high-quality learning in mathematics. Recently, leaders have identified that pupils’ reasoning and 9 and 10 November 2021

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problem-solving skills are not yet as good as they might be. Leaders have rearranged the curriculum to provide more opportunities to practise these skills.

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Leaders know their school well. They understand that some areas of the curriculum are not as well-planned as they could be. This means that sometimes teachers focus on what activities they provide to pupils, rather than on the specific knowledge they want pupils to learn. In the EYFS, learning is interesting and engaging. Teachers assess children accurately. They use this information to ensure that children are supported well in their next steps. However, at times, some activities are too complicated. This means that children do not understand what they are being asked to do.

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Pupils understand why it is important to be kind to others. The school is calm and purposeful. Pupils talk confidently about the action staff take to ensure that all pupils can succeed. As a result, low-level disruption is rare.

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Leaders and staff promote pupils’ personal development well. Pupils enjoy taking on roles of responsibility. The school’s values of care, communicate, persevere and sparkle are reflected in all aspects of school life. Pupils are given opportunities to develop their independence by attending residential visits. They gain an impressive understanding of a range of issues from the high-quality books that teachers read to them.

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Governors have the necessary skills to ensure that the headteacher continues to improve the school. They have considered the well-being of staff throughout a period of change. Leaders at all levels model the importance of respecting others.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders, at all levels, promote a strong culture of safeguarding. They fulfil their responsibilities well. A typical view is ‘it could happen here’. Staff receive regular high-quality training. This helps them recognise potential signs of abuse. All staff understand the procedures for reporting concerns. Pupils who need specialist support receive it in a timely manner. Therefore, the school’s most vulnerable pupils are looked after well.

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Safeguarding

Leaders ensure that recruitment checks are thorough. These are captured accurately on the school’s single central record. Pupils are taught about local emerging issues, such as county lines.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Teachers are not always clear enough about what they want children to learn in some subjects. This leads to a greater focus on completing tasks rather than 9 and 10 November 2021

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gaining knowledge. As a result, pupils struggle to remember key knowledge over time. Leaders must ensure that they carefully consider what they want pupils to know and remember.  Children’s language and communication skills in the EYFS are not developed as well as they could be. Children are not given the opportunities to practice and develop this key knowledge sufficiently. Teachers need to ensure that this is planned for in daily routines.  Activities in the early years can be too complicated. This means that children do not always understand what they are being asked to do. Teachers need to ensure that learning is broken down into smaller steps so that children can build knowledge successfully.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to 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. 9 and 10 November 2021

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School details

Inspection number 10200968 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 29 September 2020, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of the Cornwall Education Learning Trust.  The school does not use any alternative providers.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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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 headteacher, the SENCo, groups of staff, representatives from the governing body and the chief executive officer.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in: early reading, mathematics, science, history and personal, social and health education. For each deep dive, inspectors met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, 9 and 10 November 2021

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spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors checked the procedures for keeping pupils safe.  An inspector checked all survey responses, including 87 from pupils, 35 from staff and 39 from parents. This included taking into account the 25 responses to Ofsted’s free-text service.  Inspectors met with groups of pupils to find out what is it like to be part of the school.  Inspectors looked at the school’s plans for improvement, minutes of governors’ meetings and monitoring documents.

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Inspection team

Jane Dennis, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Simon Bissett Ofsted Inspector 9 and 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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