St Stephens (Saltash) Community Primary School & Nursery

Inspection of a good school: St Stephens (Saltash) Community Primary School Long Park Road, Saltash, Cornwall PL12 4AQ

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Outcome

St Stephens (Saltash) Community Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love coming to St Stephens School. They talk positively about the welcoming feeling they experience at the school and say that everyone gets on well. Leaders have high expectations for what pupils can achieve. Pupils rise to these expectations and enjoy their learning. Leaders treat pupils as individuals, taking care to understand them and make sure that everything they do is matched to their needs. As a result, pupils demonstrate positive attitudes to learning. They behave well in lessons and around school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are thoughtful about their learning and listen carefully to one another. Older pupils take pride in supporting younger pupils at playtimes and in their learning. Pupils trust the staff in the school. They say that bullying never happens, but if it did, they are sure that staff would deal with it straightaway. Pupils say that they feel safe in school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are encouraged to be active learners and think carefully about what, why and how they learn. They are shown how to be reflective and resilient. These attitudes shine through as they talk about their learning and their school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have created a strong staff team. Everyone works together well for the good of the pupils.

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

Leaders have designed an ambitious curriculum. They have invested in high-quality resources and use them effectively to enhance learning. For example, pupils use programmable robots in the dedicated studio space and try out routines that they have programmed when they learn to code. There are many aspects of the curriculum where pupils learn the key knowledge they need to complete challenging tasks. Pupils created impressive ‘hoax’ photographs, having learned skills like cloning. However, sometimes the learning does not match the key knowledge that leaders have identified for pupils to 8 and 9 November 2022

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learn. When this happens, some pupils do not build their knowledge as securely as they need to.

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Leaders put reading at the heart of the curriculum. Staff make sure that all pupils learn to read well and learn to love reading. Pupils begin learning to read straightaway, with sessions beginning from the Nursery onwards. Pupils practise reading regularly. Leaders have put in place regular and effective checks of pupils’ learning. Pupils who fall behind are supported to catch up quickly. Leaders make sure there are lots of resources for reading. Pupils speak enthusiastically about the books their teachers choose and the many ways in which their teachers encourage them to read.

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Mathematics is a strength of the school. The curriculum is ambitious and implemented effectively. The well-designed systems and approaches increase the effectiveness of the curriculum. These help pupils to become fluent with their mathematics, use reasoning and solve problems. Assessments provide useful information for teachers and help pupils to remember what they have learned. Pupils are enthusiastic about mathematics. They think deeply about the subject and learn successfully.

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Leaders help teachers to develop strong subject knowledge. They ensure that teachers work together, and they provide effective training for teachers. Subject leaders are experts in the areas they lead. Teachers speak highly about the support they receive. They are clear when they explain new content to pupils. Teachers ask questions to probe and extend pupils’ thinking. They use discussion effectively in order to deepen pupils’ learning.

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Pupils take care and pride in the learning they record in their books. They are able to speak clearly about what they have learned and remembered. Older pupils, for example, explain physical features of coasts using vocabulary like ‘stack’, ‘bay’ and ‘headland’.

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Leaders are committed to ensuring that all pupils learn the whole curriculum. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Leaders make sure that all staff are clear about the individual needs of pupils. Pupils’ targeted support ensures that they progress through the curriculum successfully.

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Leaders have carefully considered pupils’ wider development. There is a detailed and thoughtful programme for personal, social and health education. Pupils are proud of the responsibilities they can hold, for example as ‘Internet Legends’ or ‘Eco Warriors’. Pupils enjoy the extensive range of clubs that they are offered. As a result, pupils develop their independence and are well prepared for their next steps.

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In the early years, there are strong and nurturing relationships between adults and children. This enables staff to design purposeful activities. However, children’s vocabulary and important concepts that pupils learn in the early years are not linked well enough to the needs of the curriculum in key stage 1 and beyond. Leaders have not yet set out in detail how the provision for the youngest pupils prepares them well for their future learning. 8 and 9 November 2022

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Governors understand the school well. They work effectively with school leaders to ensure pupils access an ambitious and effective curriculum.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The safeguarding leadership team is diligent and effective. All staff are vigilant and report concerns quickly. Effective help for pupils is provided by the school or accessed through other agencies. Leaders are tenacious in ensuring that actions are followed up. Recruitment is carefully managed. There are effective systems in place should there be any allegations made against adults.

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Safeguarding

The school’s curriculum ensures that pupils learn what they need to stay safe now and in their future lives.

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Safeguarding

Governors are clear about their role in safeguarding. They have supported leaders to create a strong culture of safeguarding.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, teachers do not deliver sequences of learning that follow the planned curriculum. Where this happens, some pupils do not build their knowledge as securely as they could. Leaders must ensure that teachers provide learning that contributes effectively to delivering the curriculum intent and building pupils’ knowledge well over time.  Leaders have not identified how provision for pupils in the early years prepares them for their future learning of the schools’ curriculum. This means that the vocabulary and important concepts that pupils learn in the early years are not always accurately linked to the curriculum in key stage 1 or beyond. Leaders must identify the important knowledge and vocabulary that they want pupils in the early years to know and remember so that they are well prepared for their future learning.

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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 an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately. 8 and 9 November 2022

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This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in March 2017.

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How can I feedback 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 feedback my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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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. 8 and 9 November 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10227166 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.st-stephens-salt.cornwall.sch.uk

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 7 and 8 March 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school has a teacher-led Nursery for three- and four-year-old children.  The school does not currently make use of any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and has taken that into account in his evaluation of the school.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and computing. For each deep dive, the inspector met with subject leaders to discuss the curriculum, spoke with teachers and pupils and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The inspector visited some lessons. The inspector observed pupils reading to a familiar adult.  The inspector spoke with pupils about school life, including behaviour.  The inspector held meetings with a range of staff, including the headteacher. In addition, the inspector met with members of the governing body. 8 and 9 November 2022

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 The inspector considered responses to Ofsted Parent View, including free-text responses. He spoke with parents at the start of the school day.  The inspector considered responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire for staff and its pupil survey.  The inspector reviewed a range of documentation about safeguarding. He spoke with staff to understand how they keep pupils safe. He reviewed the school’s record of checks undertaken on newly appointed staff.  The inspector spoke with a range of staff to discuss leaders’ support for them.

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Inspection team

Jonathan Gower, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 8 and 9 November 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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