Liskeard Hillfort Primary School

Inspection of Liskeard Hillfort Primary School Old Road, Liskeard, Cornwall PL14 6HZ

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Inspection dates: 19 and 20 September 2023

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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

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Overall effectiveness Good

The headteacher of this school is Dr Tim Cook. This school is part of Truro and Penwith Academy Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Dr Jennifer Blunden, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Anita Firth. 19 and 20 September 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a welcoming and happy school. Pupils describe it as a place that treats everyone equally. Teachers help pupils to do their best. Pupils enjoy their learning and playing with their friends.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for pupils’ behaviour. Pupils respond well to the school rules and routines that are in place. They behave well in lessons and when moving around the school. As a result, their learning progresses without interruption. This starts in the early years, where children follow instructions and behave well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils value the positive relationships they have with staff. Staff and pupils treat one another with respect and kindness. Pupils feel safe and know that staff will listen to them. They particularly appreciate how the owl boxes in their classrooms help them to share any worries or concerns.

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What is it like to attend this school?

There are many wide-ranging experiences to enrich the curriculum. Pupils speak fondly of the range of trips and clubs on offer to them, such as bike club and judo. They value the opportunities they have to become play leaders and school councillors. Pupils say that these roles help them to act as role models to others.

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better?

The school has high expectations for what all pupils can achieve. An ambitious curriculum has been designed which carefully considers what pupils need to know and when they need to know it, from the early years to Year 6.

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better?

In subjects where published outcomes are below national expectations, the school is taking effective action to strengthen the curriculum. For example, in reading, the school has made sure that staff implement the reading curriculum effectively across the school.

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better?

Reading is at the heart of the school’s work. From the entrance, along corridors and in classrooms, the environment promotes and celebrates reading. Pupils enjoy their visits to the school library. They enjoy listening to adults read stories to them. As they move through the school, pupils read a range of texts with increasing fluency and accuracy.

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better?

Children begin learning phonics as soon as they start school. They quickly develop an enjoyment of books, rhymes and songs. All staff benefit from the training they receive to teach phonics and reading effectively. Books that pupils read match the sounds they learn, which helps them gain confidence. Staff regularly check the sounds that pupils know. This means that pupils who may find reading difficult receive the help they need to catch up quickly. 19 and 20 September 2023

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Pupils learn well in most of the wider curriculum subjects. In geography, for example, pupils confidently recall what they have learned about the continents and climate change and make links to concepts such as renewable and non-renewable energy. However, the implementation of this curriculum is not as effective in some subjects as in others. Pupils do not build their knowledge well over time. This hampers the progress that some pupils make.

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The school supports pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) well. This starts with the youngest children as they join Reception. Staff know these pupils well and identify their needs accurately. School and trust leaders work well with teachers to create plans which are precise and regularly reviewed. Pupils with SEND follow the same curriculum as their peers.

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Pupils display positive attitudes to learning and are kind to one another. The environment in classrooms and around the school is calm and orderly. Children in the early years settle into new routines quickly. They take turns and play well together.

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Pupils’ broader personal development is well considered and designed. The curriculum helps pupils to learn about different cultures, faiths and relationships well. Pupils understand how to keep themselves safe and healthy, both physically, emotionally, and when online. The school enriches the curriculum through activities, trips and residential visits. This helps pupils to build their understanding of the wider world.

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Trustees and local governors are ambitious for the school. They accurately understand what the school does well and where it needs to improve. They hold the school to account. Staff, including those who are new to teaching, value the team spirit at the school. They appreciate how their workload is considered and their development supported.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 An effective curriculum is not yet fully implemented in some subjects. As a result, pupils have not yet gained the depth of knowledge that they should. The trust needs to ensure that all subjects are implemented fully and effectively so that pupils build the knowledge they need. 19 and 20 September 2023

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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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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 19 and 20 September 2023

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 17 and 18 October 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not make use of any alternative provision.  There is a before- and after-school club managed by the school.

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, the chair of the board of trustees and the chief executive officer of the multi-academy trust. 19 and 20 September 2023

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 Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, computing and geography. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also discussed the curriculum in some other subjects.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and at social times. They spoke with different groups of pupils to discuss their views of the school, their learning, their behaviour and safety.  Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent

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View. They also took into consideration the responses to the staff survey.

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Inspection team

Mark Burgess, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Carl Thornton Ofsted Inspector 19 and 20 September 2023

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