St Breward Community Primary School

Inspection of St Breward Community Primary School St Breward, Bodmin, Cornwall PL30 4LX

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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 Requires improvement

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The headteacher of this school is Kristian Buxton Dean. This school is part of the Westcountry Schools 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), Rob Haring, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Carl Atkinson. 1 and 2 July 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love to attend this welcoming and inclusive village school. Warm and caring relationships exist between staff and pupils. This creates a strong sense of belonging. Right from the Nursery Year, consistent routines help children to get off to a positive start to their learning journey.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school sets high expectations for what pupils can achieve. Most pupils live up to these and achieve well. They embody the school’s core values of respect, responsibility, compassion and curiosity. In the classroom, pupils participate and learn well. Pupils of all ages play together harmoniously in the playground. They consistently treat each other and adults with courtesy and kindness. As a result, bullying is rare.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from rich experiences that enhance their character. Outdoor learning helps pupils connect with nature. Residential trips to Bristol and Bath broaden pupils’ horizons and improve their confidence and independence. A range of clubs, such as cricket, construction and gardening help pupils to explore their talents and interests. Pupils benefit from opportunities to learn to play brass or string instruments.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents and carers hold positive views of the school. They appreciate how staff care and support their children to be the best they can be.

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

Since the previous inspection, the school has experienced a turbulent time with changes in staffing and leadership. However, the school is now stable, with a clear sense of direction. Together, the school and trust have addressed previous areas for improvement.

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

The school identifies the key knowledge it wants pupils to learn. It has given careful consideration to this so that pupils taught in mixed-aged classes learn skills and knowledge in a sensible order. For example, in geography, children use mapping skills in the early years to explore the position of the school in the local area. Older pupils build on this knowledge when they compare and learn about contrasting locations when learning about climate change. In mathematics, older pupils build on build on prior knowledge when solving more complex problems involving angles and algebra.

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

In the main, teachers use effective checks to identify and address any gaps or misconceptions that pupils have. However, this practice is more secure in some curriculum areas than others. This is due to the legacy of a weaker curriculum and previous gaps in pupils’ knowledge. At times, this can limit pupils’ achievement.

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

The school places a sharp focus on developing children’s communication and language skills. In the provision for two- and three-year-olds, staff model new words and encourage children to include them correctly in their conversations. From the Reception Year, children quickly learn the sounds that make up words. They read books that closely match their stage of reading. This helps children to build fluency and confidence. For pupils who struggle to keep up with the phonics programme, staff provide regular and effective 1 and 2 July 2025

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support. The school aspires for pupils to develop a love of books and become fluent readers. Throughout the wider curriculum, high-quality texts extend pupils’ vocabulary and complement the reading offer by broadening pupils’ views of the world.

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Most pupils achieve well across the curriculum. However, occasionally, there are some inconsistencies in the school’s approach to writing. Some pupils are not given sufficient opportunity to develop and secure the basic skills of grammar, spelling and punctuation in writing. This affects the accuracy and quality of writing for some groups of pupils.

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The school is quick to identify pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff provide bespoke support to meet their individual needs. They know pupils well. They make appropriate adaptations to learning so pupils with SEND learn well alongside their peers.

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The provision for personal development is a strength. Pupils learn about how their bodies change as they get older. They know not to share personal information online and to report any concerns to an adult. Pupils hold positions of responsibility in the classroom and around the school. They make a tangible difference to the life of the school, for example, members of the school parliament use funds to purchase a firepit for the outdoor classroom.

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Trustees and the central trust team understand their responsibilities. They offer meaningful challenge and support, keeping the needs of the children at the heart of decision-making. Most staff feel valued and supported. The school considers their workload and well-being. Staff appreciate how professional development is improving their practice and pupils’ outcomes.

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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 give pupils sufficient opportunities to develop and secure the core foundations of writing. As a result, some groups of pupils do not apply their knowledge of grammar, spelling and punctuation in their written work. The trust and school should ensure that the staff have the expertise to develop and secure pupils’ foundational knowledge in writing.  In some subjects, where the curriculum is newer, pupils have gaps in their knowledge from a legacy of weaker learning in the past. This makes it hard for pupils to build new knowledge securely. The trust and school should support staff to use effective strategies to help pupils achieve as well as they should in these subjects. 1 and 2 July 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). 1 and 2 July 2025

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 8 and 9 February 2023, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this school

 The school joined Westcountry Schools Trust in June 2024.  Significant changes to leadership and staffing have occurred since the previous inspection. The headteacher took up post in January 2025. There have been other recent changes in staffing alongside this.  The school has two classes.  The school has a nursery which children can attend from the age of two.  The school does not use any alternative providers.

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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 provision). Schools 1 and 2 July 2025

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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.  Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors held discussions with the headteacher, other senior leaders and school staff. The lead inspector met with CEO of the trust, representatives from the trust board and other senior trust leaders.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and geography. 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 considered the curriculum in other subjects.  The lead inspector listened to some pupils in Years 1, 2 and 3 reading to a familiar adult.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: met the designated

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safeguarding lead; checked the single central record of adults working in the school; took account of the views of 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 observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and at lunchtime. They spoke with pupils and staff about behaviour.  Inspectors spoke with a range of staff to discuss how the school supports their workload and well-being.  Inspectors spoke with some parents at the end of the school day. They considered responses to Ofsted Parent View, including free-text comments. Inspectors also considered responses to Ofsted’s staff survey.

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Inspection team

Gavin Summerfield, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Mark Mitchley Ofsted Inspector 1 and 2 July 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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