Boscastle Community Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Boscastle Community Primary School Fore Street, Boscastle, Cornwall PL35 0AU

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Outcome

Boscastle Community Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Learning at Boscastle Community Primary School is like being part of a happy family. Staff know each pupil well. They use this to establish strong, trusted relationships. They ensure that lessons are engaging and interesting. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), enjoy learning and do well. As a result, pupils benefit from the school’s ethos ‘where we can all be our best’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils show strong attitudes to their learning and often behave well around the school. Pupils and parents agree that bullying is exceptionally rare, if it ever happens. Pupils say they are happy and that everyone looks out for one another. They recognise that everyone is unique and should be helped to flourish. One pupil summed up the views of many when they said, ‘it feels right to be here’. Pupils know that staff sort issues out quickly. This ensures that pupils feel happy and safe, and have a sense of belonging.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents are positive about the experiences their children have. They rightly believe their children are safe and well looked after. They recognise that staff go above and beyond to give their children a wealth of extracurricular opportunities that bring their learning to life.

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

Boscastle Community Primary is an effective, improving school. School leaders have worked determinedly to manage the transition back to a standalone school. For example, the establishment of a new governing body to oversee the school has been successful. Following these significant changes, the school has raised its expectations for pupils. This is supported by strong engagement with all members of the school community. A good example of this is the effective work the school has done in working with families to improve attendance and reduce persistent absence. Similarly, the school has ensured that staff rightly feel valued. Staff work together committedly to continuously improve provision. This all means the school is increasingly serving its community well. 20 March 2024

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The school benefits from a well-thought-out curriculum. Some elements are more established and pupils learn very well. For example, the mathematics curriculum is sequenced carefully. Staff have strong subject knowledge, including in the early years. Pupils build on what they already know and can do successfully. They are particularly adept at applying what they know to solve problems. The school has recently changed how learning is planned in some subjects, such as geography and history. This has raised expectations and ensured learning is sequenced appropriately from the moment children start in Reception. Teachers utilise this planning to promote pupils’ learning across subjects in thoughtful ways. As a result, pupils, including those with SEND, remember relevant knowledge and achieve well.

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Nevertheless, leaders know there is more to do. They recognise that subject design now needs refinement so that pupils can learn more, and with greater understanding. For example, in geography, pupils learn through projects that help them to remember key geographical facts, such as the names and locations of significant places. However, they are less secure when asked to use their knowledge to make links between the projects they have learned and how to be better geographers.

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The school ensures that reading is at the heart of the curriculum. High-quality texts underpin planning, including in the early years. There is a robust programme for teaching early reading. Pupils learn to read rapidly and successfully as a result. When pupils are at risk of falling behind, staff utilise appropriate assessment and targeted support to help them catch up. Pupils learn to love reading. They enjoy the books their teachers share with them, and the opportunities they are given to celebrate reading. They recognise that many of the books they experience have useful links to their learning in other subjects, such as history.

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Pupils with SEND learn alongside their peers. This means they benefit from the same strengths and limitations of the curriculum. The school rightly acknowledges that some planning for pupils with SEND is better than others. Where it is stronger, pupils benefit from specific, measurable targets which help to accelerate their learning. However, where it is weaker, the targets are too broad and generalised. This means the planning for pupils with SEND does not consistently allow them to do their very best.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some elements of the curriculum remain new or overly focused on specific elements of knowledge. As a result, pupils do not develop a broad and secure knowledge. The school should continue to embed and develop their new curriculum so that pupils’ outcomes continue to improve across all subjects. 20 March 2024

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 Some individual plans for pupils with SEND are too general and difficult to measure the impact of. This means that the plans themselves are not effective. The school should sharpen these plans so that identified targets are measurable, achievable and allow pupils with SEND to make even better progress.

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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 first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in November 2018.

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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’ 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). 20 March 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website https://boscastle.cornwall.sch.uk/

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 6 and 7 November 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 At the time of the last inspection, the school was part of a formal federation with Port Isaac Community Primary School. This meant there was shared leadership and governance across both schools. The formal federation was ended in September 2022. At this time a new headteacher was appointed and a governing body to oversee the work of the school was reformed.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.

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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 leaders, including the headteacher and special educational needs coordinator. 20 March 2024

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 Inspectors spoke to a representative from the local authority. They also met with five members of the governing body, including the chair.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and geography. For each deep dive, inspectors met 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 a sample of pupils’ work. Inspectors also looked at curriculum planning and listened to some pupils read.  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 took account of the responses to the Ofsted Parent View questionnaire and

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free-text responses. They also considered responses to the staff survey.  Inspectors reviewed a range of documentation, including documents relating to governance and information about the school’s curriculum.

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Matthew Barnes, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Sean Millar Ofsted Inspector 20 March 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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