Summercourt Academy

Inspection of Summercourt Academy School Road, Summercourt, Newquay, Cornwall TR8 5EA

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

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The head of school is Louise Savage. 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 (CEO), Rachel Warwick, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Penny Shilston.

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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 July 2015. Since September 2024, schools have not been awarded an overall effectiveness grade. 4 and 5 March 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and safe at Summercourt Academy. The vision and values permeate through the school. For example, through ‘Aim High, Smile and Shine’, pupils speak highly of the kindness of others. They are polite, considerate and inclusive of everyone because they know that equality is important.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations of pupils through the design of its broad and ambitious curriculum. Staff are determined for pupils to succeed in all that they do. Pupils rise to this, achieve well and show positive attitudes to their learning. This begins in the early years, where children thrive with an impressive start to their educational journey.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ wider development is at the heart of Summercourt. The school provides a wealth of opportunities, especially to develop pupils’ talents and interests. For example, the school works with local theatres to provide a range of performance experiences. It ensures that pupils participate in a variety of extra-curricular clubs and sporting events throughout their time at school. Pupils talk fondly of these, including the gardening club, where they learn how to look after plants. The school tracks participation of its offer closely to ensure that all pupils benefit, including disadvantaged pupils, whose involvement is high.

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

The school, alongside the trust, is ambitious for pupils to be successful, especially those who are disadvantaged. It checks carefully how well pupils are learning the curriculum and provides professional development to support teaching. Staff appreciate the high level of support provided by leaders to support their workload and well-being.

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

Across subjects, the school has identified the knowledge and vocabulary that pupils need to learn. Where this is clearly defined, pupils are supported to build their knowledge securely through regular opportunities to revisit important concepts. For example, in art, through the careful sequencing of concepts such as drawing and painting, pupils build their knowledge progressively. This helps them to gain knowledge securely and to remember their learning.

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

However, in a small minority of subjects beyond early years, concepts have not been sequenced carefully enough. Consequently, pupils do not revisit these often enough to secure knowledge into their long-term memory. In addition, the tasks given to pupils do not always help them to deepen their knowledge or make links with what they have learned before. As a result, some pupils have gaps in their understanding and find it hard to recall their learning.

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

The school makes checks on how well pupils are learning the curriculum. For example, in mathematics, checks at the start and end of each unit of study help to identify pupils who need more support. This informs future learning to ensure that pupils build their knowledge based on what they know and can do. Inclusion is a strength of the school. There is a clear process to identifying and supporting pupils with special educational 4 and 5 March 2025

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needs and/or disabilities. These pupils benefit from precise support to enable them to learn the curriculum well alongside their peers.

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Children in the early years flourish. They learn with sustained concentration and engagement through well-planned activities that closely match the ambitious curriculum. The school supports children to connect new learning with what they already know as well as promote high levels of independence. For example, children know where to find bug collecting tools to locate ladybirds in the garden. The school relentlessly ensures that children receive all the help they need to progress exceptionally well through the curriculum.

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The school prioritises helping pupils to learn to read. Pupils read books that enable them to practise the sounds they know. This helps them to become confident and fluent readers. The school tracks carefully how well pupils are developing their phonics knowledge and provides swift support for those pupils who need it. A love of reading is promoted. Pupils value their library and enjoy sharing their favourite books and authors.

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The school has clear routines in place to ensure it is calm and orderly. Pupils know these well and want to be successful. They value the recognition they receive when they gain success. The school tracks the attendance of pupils closely and provides support to families who need it. Most pupils attend well because of the school’s actions to promote high attendance.

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The school maps out opportunities to enhance pupils’ experiences. Pupils appreciate visits to enrich the curriculum, such as a visit to a railway linked to learning in history. Pupils value the difference they make through their leadership roles. They take pride in their school community. For example, the litter picking station enables pupils to look after their school environment.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a minority of subjects beyond early years, the school has not identified clearly enough the knowledge pupils need to know and revisit. As a result, some pupils do not deepen their knowledge of concepts well enough to build and retain their learning. The trust needs to ensure the school is clear about the sequencing of knowledge that pupils need to learn and revisit in all subjects so that they can deepen their understanding equally well across the breadth of the curriculum.  In key stages 1 and 2, sometimes learning tasks do not help pupils to make links with previous knowledge or deepen their learning well enough. As a result, some pupils have gaps in their knowledge and so are less prepared for future learning. The trust 4 and 5 March 2025

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needs to ensure that tasks given to pupils enable them to build their knowledge securely across all subjects.

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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). 4 and 5 March 2025

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School details

Headteacher Louise Savage (Head of School)

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 2 and 3 July 2015, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Summercourt Academy is part of Aspire Academy Trust.  The school runs its own before- and after-school provision.  The head of school took up her post in 2019.  The school currently uses one registered 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. 4 and 5 March 2025

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 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 the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors spoke with school leaders, curriculum leaders, parents, those responsible for governance, including the chair of the trust, and a trust executive leader.  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 discussed the curriculum in some other subjects.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single

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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 familiar 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’s online survey for parents, Ofsted Parent View. Inspectors also considered responses to Ofsted’s online surveys for staff and pupils.

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Inspection team

Esther Best, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Sarah Ryder Ofsted Inspector 4 and 5 March 2025

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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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