Mevagissey Community Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Mevagissey Community Primary School Old Road, Trewinney, Mevagissey, St Austell, Cornwall PL26 6TD

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Outcome

Mevagissey Community Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have high expectations for pupils. Pupils are happy and have a successful experience at school. Leaders are ambitious for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well. They follow the ‘Mevagissey Way’, which is to be ‘ready, respectful and safe’. Pupils are polite and considerate towards each other. They enjoy earning praise and recognition for how they behave. Pupils are happy to attend school regularly. They know how to make good friends. Pupils say that bullying is rare, and teachers help them deal with any fallings-out. Pupils feel safe in school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils appreciate the many experiences that leaders provide, such as trips to local areas of interest. They enjoy a wide range of opportunities to enrich their learning. For example, many pupils attend after-school clubs, such as those for art and gardening. Parents and carers share this view, saying, ‘You couldn’t get a better community spirit than at Mevagissey School.’ Residential trips help to develop pupils’ confidence and resilience when they are trying something new.

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

Leaders’ aspirations for pupils are clear to see. They have created a happy and successful school where pupils and staff work together effectively. Pupils achieve well in a wide range of subjects. Leaders are ambitious to provide a broad curriculum. Pupils are excited to learn from the time they start in Reception Year. The curriculum is well designed. It sets out the essential knowledge that pupils need to know, understand and remember.

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

In most subjects, the curriculum content that pupils need to learn is securely in place. Pupils are provided with opportunities to ask questions and investigate, for example when predicting and testing the best liquid with which to water and feed a newly grown plant. However, leaders rightly recognise that the curriculum in some foundation subjects is not 22 February 2023

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embedded as effectively as it is others. Leaders are developing these subject curriculums so that these are well established across all year groups.

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Leaders ensure that reading sits at the heart of the curriculum. Pupils enjoy the range of stories, poems and novels that staff share with them. Many say that this inspires them to read more widely. The school’s approach to teaching phonics is paying off. In Reception Year, children successfully read and write the sounds they should know. Staff ensure that pupils practise their reading regularly. This allows them to develop their confidence and expression. Well-trained teaching assistants provide support for pupils who are at risk of falling behind. However, the new reading curriculum has been slower to have an impact in key stage 2, where a small minority of pupils do not read as fluently as they should.

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Leaders make sure that staff know how to spot needs and adapt the curriculum effectively for pupils with SEND. This ensures that pupils with SEND learn well alongside their peers. This is highly effective. However, teachers do not consistently check how well all pupils can remember their learning. This means that, sometimes, teaching moves on without staff correcting misconceptions, leaving pupils with gaps in their knowledge.

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Pupils behave well. Lessons are not interrupted by poor behaviour. Pupils want to do well and have positive attitudes towards learning. They know what it means to be ready to learn and they understand this to be an important part of the ‘Mevagissey Way’.

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Pupils enjoy a wide variety of extra opportunities. Many pupils undertake leadership responsibilities, such as being part of the school council. As a result of these opportunities, pupils are proud that they have been able to develop their courtyard and raise money to buy more library books.

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Leaders and staff work as a united and dedicated team. Morale is high because staff receive the right support and feel valued. Staff say that leaders are mindful of their workload and well-being. Governors have the same ambitions as leaders. They ask challenging questions to ensure that the school continues to improve and that pupils achieve well.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders put pupils’ welfare first. They ensure that the curriculum provides opportunities for pupils to learn how to stay safe, including when online. Pupils know whom to go to if they have a concern and that staff take their concerns seriously. They say that they feel safe.

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Safeguarding

Leaders and governors know the school community well. They use this knowledge to decide on the focus of safeguarding training. Staff know what signs to look for that may indicate that pupils are at risk. Leaders and governors carry out appropriate checks on the suitability of staff. 22 February 2023

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 A minority of pupils in key stage 2 do not read as fluently as they should. The new reading curriculum has been slower to have an impact in key stage 2. Leaders should continue to review and refine the help that struggling readers receive, so that these pupils become fluent readers.  In some curriculum areas, assessment is not always used consistently to identify what pupils do not fully understand. As a result, some pupils have misconceptions or gaps in their knowledge that are not rectified quickly. Subject leaders need to ensure that assessment information is used consistently to inform the next steps in pupils’ 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.

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Background

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in March 2013.

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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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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. 22 February 2023

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Date of previous inspection

28 November 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Mevagissey Community Primary School is part of Cornwall Education Learning Trust.  A new headteacher was appointed in September 2022.  Leaders do not make use of 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. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with the headteacher and other senior leaders. Meetings were also held with representatives from Cornwall Education Learning Trust.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, science and geography. For each deep dive, an inspector discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work 22 February 2023

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 Inspectors heard some pupils read. Inspectors also looked at pupils’ work and considered the curriculum and assessment in a range of subjects.  Inspectors looked at documents about school improvement, the curriculum and safeguarding. They took account of the responses to the Ofsted Parent View survey and staff survey.

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Inspection team

Paul Walker, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Mark Lees Ofsted Inspector 22 February 2023

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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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