Pencalenick School

Inspection of Pencalenick School St Clement, Truro, Cornwall TR1 1TE

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The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Previous inspection grade Good

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The headteacher of this school is Joseph McGovern. This school is part of Special Partnership 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), Guy Chappell, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Alison Cook. 7 and 8 May 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Pencalenick School talk with pride and enthusiasm about the staff and what the school offers them. The school’s dedication to building strong, nurturing relationships supports pupils to feel safe and build trust. This creates a calm, settled learning environment where staff foster pupils’ confidence and sense of identity. Pupils show respect and kindness towards each other.

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What is it like to attend this school?

While there is a clear focus on successfully developing pupils socially and emotionally, the school’s academic offer is not having the same impact. The curriculum lacks a clear structure. Pupils do not achieve as well as they should or meet the expectations that the school has for them. This is a priority of the recently established leadership team.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has much to offer pupils to prepare them for their next steps, those in their immediate futures and into adulthood. There is a rich variety of choices for pupils to challenge themselves and develop their independence and resilience. The school responds to pupils’ interests as well as deliberately introducing them to new experiences such as the orchestra, sailing, the Jubilee Challenge and volunteering for roles to support the day to day running of the school. Many parents and carers describe the positive difference the school has made to their children’s well-being and development.

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

The school, with the support of the wider trust, has worked to maintain its ambitious offer for pupils’ social and emotional development. However, turbulence in leadership has hindered the ongoing focus on the school’s academic offer. The school has identified the changes required to ensure pupils receive a good quality of education across all subjects.

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

Staff are unclear about what the school’s expectations are for what pupils will learn from the academic curriculum. The curriculum does not identify the important knowledge that pupils should learn. Therefore, learning in lessons is not focused well enough on what pupils need to learn and what end points they are working towards.

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

The school has strengthened some aspects of the curriculum with success. Pupils become fluent and confident readers through the school’s approach to reading. Pupils that require additional help with their reading get the support that they need. The curriculum for personal, social and health education (PSHE) is well-designed. It is woven through pupil’s daily learning. Pupils learn to be risk aware. They know how to live a healthy lifestyle, including looking after their mental health.

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

The school’s approach to a ‘hub model’ of class-based learning ensures that the priority remains of knowing pupils well. This helps to secure strong relationship between staff and pupils. The knowledge that staff gain about pupils in their ‘hub’ group enables them to put each pupil’s education, health and care (EHC) plan at the centre of their learning and development. Staff design bespoke provision based on a range of assessment information, including personalised learning goals (PLGs). PLGs identify steps towards EHC plan outcomes. However, there is not always a clear purpose or fully established 7 and 8 May 2025

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rationale as to how the wealth of information that the school gathers is used to make the most difference to how pupils learn.

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The school’s dedicated staff place high importance on ensuring that pupils are ready and able to learn. Class staff, the specialist intervention team and the pastoral team work collaboratively to impact significantly on how well pupils manage the daily demands made of them in and out of school. This enables the school to be proactive in meeting pupils’ needs. Pupils want to be in school. They reflect on how the school has helped them to manage their emotions and express their views and opinions with confidence. This supports their preparation for post-16 destinations, which are increasingly well matched to pupils’ future aspirations.

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The school uses its expertise well to support its four specially resourced provisions for special educational needs and/or disabilities, known as area resource bases (ARBs). This enables the ARBs to work successfully with the diverse range of special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) of pupils on roll.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school’s curriculum is not sufficiently developed. Important knowledge is not identified. It is therefore not clear what should be taught and when. Pupils do not securely learn the knowledge that they need across subjects. Furthermore, the systems to check pupils’ progress through the curriculum are not linked closely enough to the subjects that they are designed to check. At times, this can hinder pupils building new learning successfully. The school should develop a well-sequenced and coherent curriculum in all subjects so that pupils can build securely on prior learning and be fully prepared for their next steps.  There is not a whole-school shared understanding of the expectations about how the academic curriculum is delivered. This includes consideration for how pupils learn most successfully and the most appropriate learning activities to support this. Consequently, pupils’ academic success is not as strong as their social and emotional learning and

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

development. The school should ensure that its expectations for its academic offer are more widely understood, and that staff have the expertise to fulfil these well.  The assessment information that the school gathers about each pupil is not used as well as it could be. This hinders the quality of education that pupils receive because they do not benefit fully from the knowledge that the school has about how well they are learning and developing. The accuracy and purpose of the information that the school gathers and collates needs to be strengthened, so that opportunities to support pupils to achieve as well as they can are in place. 7 and 8 May 2025

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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). 7 and 8 May 2025

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School details

School category Academy special converter

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 23 and 24 May 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school has pupils with a wide range of SEND, including severe learning difficulties, autism and social, emotional and mental health needs. All pupils have an EHC plan.  The school has taken on the responsibility for two further specially resourced provisions, known as area resource bases (ARBs), since it was last inspected. These two ARBs are for primary-aged pupils. The ARBs are co-located with a mainstream school at the following locations: Budehaven Community School, EX23 8DQ; Brannel School, PL26 7RN; Falmouth Primary Academy, TR11 2BB and Mount Charles Primary School, PL25 4PP.  The school does not currently have children below five-years-old on roll.  The school currently uses six unregistered providers of alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 7 and 8 May 2025

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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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 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.  The inspectors carried out deep dives into these subjects: English, mathematics, PSHE, creative arts and humanities. For each subject, the inspectors visited a sample of lessons, spoke with pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors visited and met with staff and pupils at three of the school’s specially resourced provisions, known as ARBs. An inspector met with staff and pupils remotely from the fourth ARB.  The inspectors met with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher, the assistant headteachers, the pastoral team, the specialist intervention team and wider staff.

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 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 spoke with members of the trust, including the CEO and the director of SEND as well as holding a telephone conversation with the school improvement partner.  The inspectors spoke with staff about their workload and well-being. They also took account of the responses to Ofsted’s online survey for staff.  Inspectors met with leaders who are responsible for attendance, SEND, behaviour and pupils’ personal development.  Inspectors looked at a range of policies and documentation relating to pupils’ welfare and education. They observed pupils’ behaviour on their arrival and departure from school, during lessons and around the school.

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 Inspectors took account of the responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments.  The inspectors spoke with groups of pupils about their experiences at the school.

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Inspection team

Leanne Thirlby, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Claire Thomson Ofsted Inspector 7 and 8 May 2025

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Stephen Lee Ofsted Inspector 7 and 8 May 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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