Madron Daniel CofE (VA) School

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 1231 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Helen Kershaw Executive Headteacher Madron Daniel CofE (VA) School Bellair Road Madron Penzance Cornwall TR20 8SP

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CofE (VA) School

This letter sets out the findings from the monitoring inspection that took place on 5 February 2024, on behalf of His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills. The monitoring inspection was carried out under section 8(2) of the Education Act 2005 and took place because the school meets the monitoring threshold as set out in the Monitoring Inspection Handbook .

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CofE (VA) School

The purpose of a monitoring inspection is not to grade the school’s key and (where applicable) provision judgements, but to identify and report on the school’s progress. It is to highlight to the school and parents any improvements that school leaders have made since the school’s previous graded inspection.

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CofE (VA) School

During the inspection, I discussed with you and other senior leaders, governors, the local authority and the diocese, the actions that have been taken to improve the school since the most recent graded inspection. We discussed the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. I also visited lessons, spoke with some pupils and reviewed some pupils’ work. I have considered all this in coming to my judgement.

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Main findings

There have been significant changes in leadership since the previous inspection. You were appointed as executive headteacher in April 2024. You have changed leadership structures across the federation. The school now has a senior teacher. There is a new special educational needs coordinator and early years leader working in the school. These changes have significantly increased the school’s leadership capacity.

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Main findings

Since the previous inspection, the school has focused on making improvements to the quality of education. The curriculum is now more ambitious. This now starts in the early years and builds to what pupils need to know in Year 6. The school has identified the most important knowledge and skills that pupils should learn.

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Main findings

The school has maintained reading as a high priority. It has secured additional resources to ensure that pupils read books that are well matched to the sounds they are learning. As a result, pupils read appropriate books to develop their fluency and enjoyment of reading. The school has sharpened its checks on pupils’ reading accuracy. This means it can swiftly make adaptations to teaching where necessary. This is helping pupils to improve their reading skills. The school has reviewed and refined the texts that pupils now read across the wider curriculum. For instance, the school has selected books and authors that develop pupils’ understanding of difference and diversity.

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Main findings

The school is, rightly, prioritising the professional development of teachers. There is now a sharp focus on ensuring that they have the subject knowledge they need to implement the curriculum effectively. Where teaching is strongest, new information is presented clearly to pupils. It uses deliberate approaches successfully to help pupils know and remember more. As a result, there is some emerging evidence of pupils deepening their subject knowledge. However, many improvements are in their infancy. It is crucial that the school embeds changes and continues to develop teachers’ subject expertise.

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Main findings

The school has started using assessment effectively to identify gaps in pupils’ learning. For example, it has recognised that some pupils lack the foundational knowledge they need in mathematics. The school has begun to adapt teaching to remedy these gaps. However, it is too soon to evaluate the impact of this work.

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Main findings

The school has started making improvements to the provision for children in the early years. The environment has been improved to ensure that there are more suitable resources to support children’s learning. The school understands the importance of developing children’s communication and language skills. It knows there is further work to do to develop children’s vocabulary, for example, and to ensure that all children are well prepared for their next steps.

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Main findings

Leaders are prioritising the right actions to improve the school. They are keenly focused on ensuring that the curriculum has the intended impact on pupils. There are now well- conceived systems and approaches in place so that leaders can assure themselves of this. In addition, the school is using external expertise to establish where further attention is needed.

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Main findings

There have been many changes to governance arrangements. While new governors share leaders’ ambitions and vision, they are not providing sufficient support and challenge to the school. The new governing body is just beginning to understand the priorities for further improvement to the quality of education in order to hold the school to account.

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Main findings

I am copying this letter to the chair of the board of governors, the director of education for the Diocese of Truro, the Department for Education’s regional director and the director of children’s services for Cornwall. This letter will be published on the Ofsted reports website.

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