Padstow School

Inspection of Padstow School Grenville Road, Padstow, Cornwall PL28 8EX

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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 head of school is Kate Whitford. This school is part of Aspire 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, Vanessa Bragg, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Penny Shilston. 19 and 20 September 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and proud to be members of Padstow School. They are polite and want to do well. Staff develop positive relationships with pupils and know them well. This creates a happy place to learn where pupils grow in confidence. Parents praise the care and support provided by staff.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school, with support from the trust, has taken steps since the previous inspection to improve the quality of education for all pupils. Staff have high expectations for all pupils to be successful. This starts in the early years, where children thrive.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils know the school routines well. This means the school environment is calm and orderly. Bullying is well understood by pupils. Incidences are rare. However, some pupils think issues could be resolved more swiftly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school offers a range of clubs to develop pupils’ skills and talents, including choir and multi-skills. Pupils enjoy these as well as local trips and visits. For example, pupils talk enthusiastically about the regular visits from the fire station crew when learning about fire safety.

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better?

The school is ambitious for all pupils to do well. The trust has provided effective support to improve the curriculum. The essential knowledge pupils need to learn is now sequenced across subjects. Staff have received training to strengthen the teaching of the curriculum. Subject leaders know their subjects well. Routine monitoring ensures that they have a clear understanding of how well pupils are learning the curriculum. However, in some subjects, improvements are in their infancy. As a result, pupils do not yet build their knowledge as well in these subjects. Consequently, some pupils have gaps in their knowledge.

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better?

The school uses a variety of strategies to help pupils learn. For example, teachers help pupils to recap what they have learned before. This supports pupils to deepen their understanding. However, teachers are not always clear about gaps in prior knowledge across the curriculum. This is because assessment in some subjects can lack precision. As a result, pupils find it harder to build on what they know and can do over time.

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better?

The school is ambitious for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) to be successful. They prioritise staff training to ensure that pupils’ needs are well known and understood. Early identification makes sure these pupils get the support they need. Starting in the early years, all children are assessed on arrival for any communication difficulties. From this, prompt support is in place. Teachers adapt learning to ensure that pupils with SEND can access the curriculum. This helps these pupils to learn well. 19 and 20 September 2023

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The school has prioritised reading. This starts in the early years, where the curriculum is centred around high-quality texts. Staff invest time in supporting the youngest children to enjoy a variety of stories. This continues through the school, where teachers share carefully considered books with pupils. The phonics programme is taught well because staff receive the training they need. Staff match pupils’ reading books to the sounds they know. This helps pupils to build fluency in reading.

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Children in early years get off to a strong start. The school has an ambitious curriculum that prepares them well for their next stage of learning. The development of language is a priority. Staff design learning activities that capture children’s interests. As a result, children show curiosity about the world around them. For example, the youngest children enjoyed exploring and mixing paint with their hands while adults helped them to name the new colours correctly.

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Pupils display positive attitudes to their learning. They are confident to share their ideas within a nurturing learning environment. Pupils respond well to the high expectations shared by staff. This includes during social times, where pupils play together successfully.

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Pupils are taught a curriculum that goes beyond the academic. This includes how to keep themselves safe both online and in the wider world. For example, pupils have an annual visit from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution to teach them how to stay safe at the local beaches. Pupils have a clear understanding of equality. They understand different cultures and beliefs. They know to listen to and respect the views of others, even if they are different to their own.

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All staff are proud to work at the school. The school supports their well-being and workload. Staff value the training opportunities provided by the trust to help with the development of the curriculum.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some subjects in the wider curriculum are not as well developed as others. Consequently, pupils do not build their knowledge well enough in all subjects. The trust must ensure that the curriculum continues to be developed across all subjects so that pupils build their knowledge securely over time.  Assessment is not used with enough precision to check what pupils know and remember. As a result, some pupils have gaps in their knowledge. This makes it difficult for them to build their knowledge. The trust needs to ensure that there is 19 and 20 September 2023

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an effective approach to assessment across the curriculum. This will help teachers to adapt learning to help pupils deepen their understanding.

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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

Headteacher Kate Whitford (Head of School)

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 5 and 6 November 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of Aspire Academy Trust.  This school is a smaller than average-sized primary school.  The school does not use any alternative provision.

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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. 19 and 20 September 2023

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 The inspectors spoke with school leaders, subject leaders, parents, pupils, a trustee and representatives from the trust.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, the inspectors 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. Inspectors also spoke to leaders and pupils about 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.  The lead inspector listened to pupils read to a trusted adult.  The inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school site.

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Additionally, the inspectors spoke to pupils to discuss their views about the school.  The inspectors considered responses to Ofsted Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey for parents. The inspectors considered comments made by parents online during the inspection and met with some parents at the start of the second day. Inspectors also considered responses to Ofsted’s online survey for staff. There were no responses to Ofsted’s pupil questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Esther Best, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Marcus West Ofsted Inspector 19 and 20 September 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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