St Levan Primary School

Inspection of St Levan Primary School The Bottoms, St Levan, Penzance, Cornwall TR19 6HD

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Inspection dates: 27 and 28 February 2024

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Good Previous inspection grade Good 27 and 28 February 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at St Levan Primary School are rightly proud of their happy and inclusive school. They are polite and respectful. Equality is important to pupils. They include each other and collaborate well. One pupil said, ‘We are a welcoming school where everyone is kind.’ Older pupils take real pleasure in helping younger pupils.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is determined for all pupils to succeed. Staff have high aspirations for them to reach their full potential. Pupils live up to these and learn well. Positive relationships with adults ensure that pupils learn in a nurturing environment.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents speak highly of the school. They are overwhelmingly supportive of the care and support in place for their children. One parent said, ‘St Levan School is a unique and magical school that helps children to thrive in every way.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

The way the school promotes pupils’ wider development is exceptional. The school goes above and beyond to offer a diverse range of opportunities. Clubs, trips and visits are well considered to provide enriching experiences that all pupils benefit from. Pupils are involved in many activities they know will make a difference such as local beach cleans.

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better?

The school has designed an ambitious curriculum. It knows what is working well and what could be further developed. Across most subjects, the knowledge pupils need to know and remember has been identified. For example, in mathematics, the precise knowledge the school wants pupils to learn is considered and sequenced progressively. This helps pupils to deepen their understanding based on what they have learned before. In a small minority of subjects, the identified knowledge pupils will learn based on prior learning lacks precision. This makes it more difficult for some pupils to build their knowledge as securely as they do in other subjects.

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better?

Staff help pupils learn the curriculum successfully. Assessment is used carefully to identify and support misconceptions. Regular retrieval practice supports pupils to know more and remember more. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities learn the curriculum successfully alongside their peers. This is because staff know and support these pupils’ individual needs. Targets set for these pupils are precise and help them to learn well.

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better?

Reading is a high priority for the school. Pupils read books that match the sounds they know. This supports them to become confident and fluent readers. Staff have the expertise to teach the phonics programme well. A love of reading is promoted across the school. Pupils have access to a range of genres, including those that develop their understanding of diversity. Pupils take ownership of promoting a culture of reading. For example, pupils run the reading shed ‘Mini world of stories (MWOS)’ every breaktime and lunchtime. They create incentives to encourage reading with all pupils, including a ‘readathon’ to raise money to buy more books. 27 and 28 February 2024

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Pupils show highly positive attitudes to their learning. They have a desire to improve their knowledge across the curriculum. Staff have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. Pupils know and follow the school routines successfully. Most pupils attend regularly. The school works with families to ensure pupils attend well.

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The school puts personal development at the heart of the school. Pupils benefit from a wide range of opportunities that develop their talents and interests. There are many clubs on offer, including reading, capoeira and ukulele. Participation is tracked to ensure all pupils benefit from this strong offer. The annual performance written by pupils is an event valued by the community. This helps pupils develop confidence. Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain. They have a lived experience of democracy through elections for pupil leadership roles. These include school councillors and well-being ambassadors. Pupils know they are making a difference and value the chance to help others.

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Staff appreciate the support for their workload and well-being. This includes support from governors who have an accurate view of the school. Governors have the expertise to monitor and evaluate the school effectively.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a small minority of subjects, the precise knowledge pupils need to learn and revisit to prepare them for future learning is not fully identified. As a result, some pupils do not build their knowledge as securely in some subjects. The school needs to identify the precise knowledge pupils need to know and revisit across all subjects, starting in the early years through to Year 6.

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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. 27 and 28 February 2024

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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). 27 and 28 February 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.st-levan-primary-school.org.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 15 March 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 St Levan Primary School is part of The Penwith Education Trust.  The substantive headteacher was not present during the inspection. The leadership of the school is being supported by a headteacher from another school in the cooperative trust.  The school is a smaller-than-average-size primary school. Pupils are taught in two mixed-age classes.  The school provides a before-school club.  The school uses one unregistered 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 27 and 28 February 2024

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pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspectors spoke with school leaders, subject leaders, parents, pupils, governors and a representative from the local authority.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and geography. 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

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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. 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. Inspectors also considered responses to Ofsted’s online survey for staff. There were no responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey.

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Inspection team

Esther Best, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Laura Horne Ofsted Inspector 27 and 28 February 2024

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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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