Jacobstow Community Academy

Inspection of Jacobstow Community Academy Jacobstow, Bude, Cornwall EX23 0BR

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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 Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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The headteacher of this school is Michelle Jones. The school is part of Learning Academy Partnership (South West), which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Tracey Cleverly, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Joanne Tisdall. 10 and 11 June 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from a high-quality education. They eagerly learn an ambitious curriculum and make links between their learning. Pupils engage well in their lessons and meet the high expectations set for them. Pupils with special educational needs and or/disabilities (SEND) are well supported to build on what they know and can do. As a result, they learn well and flourish.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from high levels of care. Their trusted adults know them well, so they get timely help. Pupils are kind and mannerly. They greet their peers, staff and visitors alike, with a warm welcome and a cheery smile. Pupils are rightly proud to attend their school. They behave well and develop a strong moral code. Pupils are excited to earn house points, to support their ‘house family’ to succeed.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils undertake a range of responsibilities, some which have been recently introduced. Nonetheless, they respect how these responsibilities help them to make a positive contribution to the school. Pupils enjoy the visitors and educational visits that link to their learning. Some visits which are beyond Cornwall further support them to learn about life in modern Britain.

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

The school and the trust have successfully improved standards. Leaders, at all levels, are unwavering in their ambition for all pupils to ‘grow, flourish and achieve the extraordinary’. The school has made intelligent changes to improve the quality of education. This has positively impacted its pupils. The school is insightful about the further improvements needed. Staff receive purposeful professional development that has supported them to teach consistently well. The school and the trust fully consider staff workload and well-being. Staff are unanimously positive about the support and care they receive. They feel ‘privileged’ and ‘proud’ to work at the school.

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

The school has a coherent curriculum in all subjects. The curriculum clearly sets out the important knowledge and skills for pupils to know and remember. Pupils successfully build on their prior learning. This helps them to confidently connect their learning. For example, in history, pupils use what they know about the Suffragette movement to discuss the importance of democracy and equality. Disadvantaged pupils are well supported to learn the curriculum effectively through careful adaptations. However, some pupils who are ready to extend and deepen their learning are not given enough opportunity or appropriate work in the subjects they study. This can hamper how well these pupils gain a depth of knowledge and understanding over time.

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

Reading for pleasure is a top priority for the school. Inviting libraries, class readers and interesting books across the curriculum help pupils to enjoy reading. As soon as children start in the Reception Year, they successfully learn the sounds that letters make. Pupils who find this difficult receive timely and effective support. As a result, pupils read with confidence, fluency and accuracy. This helps them to read widely across the curriculum. Children in the nursery and Reception class delight in reading with staff in their reading 10 and 11 June 2025

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cabin. Older pupils also enjoy reading with children in the Nursery and Reception Year, as well as with their peers.

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The school has been persistent in its work to improve attendance. Leaders and staff work closely with parents and carers to break down barriers. They offer well-thought-out support to help pupils to attend school regularly and on time. Consequently, pupils happily come to school each day, ready to learn.

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The school fully supports pupils’ personal development. Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe, how to have healthy relationships with their peers and how they can keep physically and mentally healthy. They are alert to issues of cyber-bullying and know how to find help. In the early years, children quickly learn how to share and play nicely with their friends. Through assemblies, carefully selected books and the curriculum, pupils understand how people may be different, and they fully respect each other’s individuality. Pupils follow their school values and use them to talk about why the fundamental British values are important. They show empathy for others and enjoy raising money for charities and the school. Pupils develop into confident and resilient young people, who are well prepared for their next steps in education.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Across the curriculum, the work for some pupils does not support them to expand and deepen their learning. As a result, these pupils do not always gain further knowledge and understanding over time. The trust and the school should ensure that the curriculum fully supports those pupils who are ready to progress to higher levels of achievement, so that they develop highly detailed knowledge and understanding of the subjects they learn.

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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. 10 and 11 June 2025

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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). 10 and 11 June 2025

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 Jacobstow Community Academy converted to become an academy in September 2022. When its predecessor school, Jacobstow Community Primary School, was last inspected by Ofsted it was judged to be inadequate for overall effectiveness.  Jacobstow Community Academy is part of Learning Academy Partnership (South West).  The headteacher joined the school in September 2024.  The school has a nursery provision for two-, three- and four-year-old children.  The school has a breakfast club.  The school uses no 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 10 and 11 June 2025

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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. The 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 the headteacher, subject leaders and the early years leader. Inspectors also met with the CEO, the deputy CEO, the director for vulnerable pupils and inclusion and representatives of the trust board and the ethos and advisory committee.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, 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

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other subjects.  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 spoke with staff and pupils throughout the inspection to gauge their views of the school.  Inspectors considered responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including free-text responses.

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Inspection team

Donna Briggs, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Laura Horne Ofsted Inspector 10 and 11 June 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 looked-after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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