Jacobstow Community Primary School

Inspection of Jacobstow Community Primary School Jacobstow, Bude, Cornwall EX23 0BR

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

The quality of education Inadequate Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Personal development Requires improvement Leadership and management Inadequate Early years provision Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Good 2 and 3 February 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

The quality of education pupils receive is poor. Leaders provide a curriculum that is often a jumbled mix of lessons. Pupils complete work that does not build on what they already know or can do. As a result, pupils lose concentration and their learning slows. They achieve far less than they should.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Although pupils said that they feel safe at school, leaders, including governors, have not put all the necessary arrangements in place to safeguard their welfare. Leaders have not planned a curriculum to ensure that pupils are aware of the risks they may face and how to manage them.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Many parents feel lucky that their children attend such a welcoming school community. Pupils are taught to respect each other. They said that bullying is rare. When it does happen, leaders deal with it. Pupils generally conduct themselves well when moving through school. They settle down to get on with their work quickly. However, pupils’ attitudes to learning can fluctuate. When work inspires and excites them, pupils behave well and work hard. When learning does not match their needs, pupils lose concentration, and learning stalls.

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better?

Over time, leaders and governors have not addressed the issues identified at the previous inspection. They have demonstrated limited capacity to improve the school. Governors do not recognise the extent of the school’s weaknesses. Therefore, they have not focused on the right priorities for improvement. Governors have not assured themselves that what leaders are doing is making enough difference to pupils’ learning. Since the previous inspection, the school has appointed a new headteacher. She knows what needs to improve. However, it is early days. Significant work is needed to bring about the necessary improvements.

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better?

Pupils have not been taught to read using a coherent phonics programme. Consequently, pupils, including children in early years, do not learn to read as quickly as they should. All staff have recently received training in the teaching of phonics. This is beginning to lead to greater consistency in daily teaching of early reading. However, too many pupils have not been taught to read well enough. As a result, they are not ready for the next stage of their educational journey.

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better?

In mathematics, the subject leader has a clear understanding of how to plan learning so that pupils know, remember and are able to do more. However, the curriculum it is not delivered consistently well across all classes. Consequently, pupils cannot always remember what they have been learning.

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better?

Leaders have recently made some efforts to reorganise the curriculum. However, learning is not planned well enough in subjects across the curriculum to help pupils 2 and 3 February 2022

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to remember important knowledge. The flow of learning between early years and Year 1 has not been considered carefully enough.

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Despite inadequacies in the curriculum in key stages 1 and 2, practice in the early years is more effective. Staff are skilled in engaging with children as they play and explore. They plan a range of activities to help check children’s understanding. Children become excited when they feel success, for example when creating telephones and being visibly proud when they were able to speak with one another.

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Staff build positive relationships with pupils. They identify and respond to pupils’ changing needs as they move up through the school. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are encouraged to learn all that their peers do. When particular support is necessary, effective group or one-to-one guidance is organised.

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Pupils mostly behave well in lessons. However, not all staff share high expectations of pupils’ conduct. When some pupils lose focus on their learning, they play around and fidget. Some call out or talk over the teacher. Where staff do not deal with these incidents well, other pupils are distracted from settling down and getting on with their learning. Leaders have had some success in improving the way pupils behave towards each other at breaktimes, by providing additional equipment and creating zones in the playground.

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Most parents feel that their children are well cared for, with several stating that staff ‘go the extra mile’. Some parents, however, do not feel that they know enough about what their children are learning and how well they are doing.

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Leaders seek to promote pupils’ personal development through assemblies. For example, pupils’ cultural understanding is enhanced by learning about the Chinese New Year. Nevertheless, opportunities to develop pupils’ character are not planned systematically.

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Governors are not effective in holding leaders to account. In recent months, governors have received support. However, the outcome of this support is yet to have the impact needed on pupils’ learning. Governors have made attempts to check on the quality of education. However, their questions are not sufficiently probing to gain a full understanding of what is happening. Senior leaders provide governors with a lot of information, but this is not well focused. Consequently, governors do not have an accurate picture of the school. Therefore, they are unable to provide adequate challenge.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders, including governors, have not ensured that staff safeguarding training is up to date. This includes training for the designated leaders for safeguarding. 2 and 3 February 2022

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There are inconsistencies in how safer recruitment checks and practices are carried out to ensure that staff are suitable to work with children. Not all checks that are required have been completed. As a result, governors have not held leaders to account for keeping children safe.

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Staff report and record concerns about pupils in a timely manner. Leaders work well with other agencies to support pupils’ welfare. However, leaders have not fulfilled their statutory safeguarding responsibilities.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Systems for ensuring that relevant safeguarding training and recruitment practices meet current guidelines are not in place. Consequently, leaders and governors cannot assure themselves that pupils are being kept safe. Governors should urgently ensure that safeguarding training is up to date, and ensure that recruitment checks are made in line with guidance.  Until recently, the teaching of reading has not been a top priority for the school. The previous approach to phonics led to inconsistencies in provision, and leaders have been too slow to address this. Recent work is showing improvements with the youngest pupils and there are plans to further develop this. Leaders must ensure that these plans are followed through, to enable children to develop their fluency and understanding of vocabulary throughout the school.  The curriculum for foundation subjects is not ambitious or coherent enough, and

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

does not include subject-specific content. As a result, the key knowledge pupils need in order to progress to their next stage of education is not prioritised. Leaders need to make sure that the curriculum is based on an ambitious selection of subject-specific skills which pupils need to learn.  Governors have an overgenerous and inaccurate view of the school. Governors knew that aspects of the school needed to be improved, but had not identified the scale of the weaknesses, including safeguarding failings. Consequently, since the last inspection, the school’s effectiveness has declined. Governors must ensure that they get to know more about the curriculum and develop their level of challenge to senior leaders urgently.  Governors have not ensured that all their statutory duties are being discharged effectively. They do not provide parents with accurate or up-to-date information in a range of areas. Leaders need to ensure that they are compliant with the

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

government’s expectations regarding what should be published online. 2 and 3 February 2022

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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. 2 and 3 February 2022

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.jacobstowprimaryschool.co.uk

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Date of previous inspection

27 February 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The headteacher took up her post in September 2019.  The school has a Nursery on site that admits children from two years of age.  This is a smaller-than-average primary school.  The school does not use alternative provision.

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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

In accordance with section 44(1) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires special measures because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. 2 and 3 February 2022

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This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.

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 Inspectors met with the headteacher, who is also the special educational needs coordinator and the early years leader, groups of staff, representatives of the governing body and the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, art, design and technology, and physical education. Work in other subjects was also considered. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited samples of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors met with the designated lead for safeguarding, and viewed safeguarding records. Records and safeguarding documentation were scrutinised, including the single central record.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and how they conducted themselves around the school.  Inspectors considered a wide range of documents, including the school

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development plan, reports to governors, policies and the school website.  Inspectors considered 44 responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, and 10 responses to the staff survey. An inspector spoke to parents and carers at the start of the inspection.

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Inspection team

Paul Walker, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Matthew Shanks Ofsted Inspector 2 and 3 February 2022

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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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