St Neot Community Primary School

Inspection of St Neot Community Primary School Loveny Road, St Neot, Liskeard, Cornwall PL14 6NL

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Outstanding

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Until November 2020, the school was exempt from routine inspection because it was judged as outstanding for overall effectiveness at its previous inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. The school has not been inspected under section 5 of the Act since January 2014. Since September 2024, schools have not been awarded an overall effectiveness grade. 3 and 4 December 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

In this school, pupils grow and develop in a nurturing environment that prepares them well for their future lives. The school is central to village life. Pupils of all ages share their talents with open performances in the church or singing to residents at the village hall. They also take part in events supporting the community, such as litter picking. This strong relationship was evident during the COVID-19 pandemic when the school worked closely with the local community to provide resources and support for pupils’ learning.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from meaningful opportunities for them to contribute to life in the school, such as membership of the school council and sports crew. Pupils are encouraged to reflect on their feelings, their beliefs and their culture. They build personal well-being books, which help in developing their sense of self-worth. Personal achievements and exceptional talents are recognised and celebrated regularly at the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well. They meet the school’s high expectations, showing good levels of self- discipline and motivation. Pupils work hard in lessons. They are proud of their work across the curriculum. Children in the Nursery follow instructions well. They quickly learn good self-care routines and table manners.

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

The school has designed a broad curriculum that meets the needs of its pupils. Everyone is encouraged to achieve their best. Effective adaptations reduce the barriers for individuals with special educational needs and/or disabilities. These pupils are fully included in all aspects of school life. This includes well-considered enrichment opportunities that bring the curriculum to life for all pupils. This is reflected in the school’s published outcomes.

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

Pupils learn to read well. In the Nursery, children enjoy listening to, and joining in with, rhymes and familiar tales. This sets them up well for learning to segment words and blend sounds in the Reception Year. The few pupils who struggle to keep up with the school’s phonics programme are well supported. This is because teaching identifies the sounds pupils find difficult quickly. The books pupils read are well matched to the sounds that they know. This helps them to develop their fluency and understanding.

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

The school has ensured the important knowledge pupils need to learn is sequenced clearly in its curriculums. For example, it has redesigned its writing curriculum so pupils are inspired to write more creatively. Pupils enjoy the new books that they study and find them exciting to read. While the school’s focus has been to ensure the content is right, it does not have a collective understanding of effective teaching strategies to be used. As a consequence, sometimes the way the curriculum is delivered is not as effective in helping pupils secure knowledge in their long-term memory.

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

The school checks that the intended curriculum is being taught. Teachers use a range of methods to understand how well pupils progress through the curriculum. However, in some wider curriculum subjects, the checks are not used consistently to consider how 3 and 4 December 2024

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well pupils are learning. When this is the case, it makes identifying gaps in pupils’ knowledge difficult. At times, this hinders teachers when designing work to support or challenge pupils to deepen their knowledge of curriculum content. While the school’s published outcomes demonstrate that most pupils leave the school prepared for the next stage of their education, some do not deepen their knowledge and reasoning as well as they could.

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The school has a clear picture of individual pupils’ attendance. However, some pupils do not attend regularly enough. The school has taken action to reduce persistent absence but recognises it is not reducing as fast as leaders intend.

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Staff are appreciative of the school’s recognition of workload and well-being. Staff support each other well. They feel valued by leaders and governors. Parents and carers are overwhelmingly positive about the school.

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Governors have strategic oversight of their statutory responsibilities. They keep the impact on pupils at the centre of their work. There have been many recent improvements to governance. Just like the staff, governors are keen to develop themselves. They gather rich information about the effectiveness of the school, which helps them have oversight of its development.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school does not have a secure grasp of the teaching knowledge needed to deliver all subjects sufficiently well. This leads to pupils learning effectively in some subjects but not in others. The school must ensure that staff have the teaching expertise they need to implement all subject curriculums as intended so that pupils secure knowledge in the long term.  In some subjects, the school does not assess effectively how well pupils learn. Consequently, in those subjects, pupils do not build and deepen their knowledge as well as they could. The school should ensure it assesses pupils’ progression through the curriculum effectively so that future learning helps pupils deepen their knowledge over time.

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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. 3 and 4 December 2024

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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). 3 and 4 December 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 22 January 2014, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this school

 The school has provision for two-year-old children in its Nursery.  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. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation 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 any impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 3 and 4 December 2024

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 Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: English, including early reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, 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 held meetings with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher, curriculum leaders and teaching and support staff. The lead inspector also met with members of the governing body, including the chair of governors. She also held a telephone call with the local authority.  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 an adult.

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 Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school site. In addition, they met with pupils informally and formally to hear their views.  Inspectors considered responses to Ofsted Parent View, including free-text responses. Inspectors also took into consideration responses to the staff and pupil surveys.  Inspectors examined a range of documentation provided by the school.

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Inspection team

Angela Folland, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Greg Chantler Ofsted Inspector 3 and 4 December 2024

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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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