Penryn Primary Academy

Penryn Primary Academy

Address: Treverbyn Rise, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 8RA Unique reference number (URN): 139073

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, pupils are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect schools for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The school has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. All legal requirements are met. Not met: The school has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Early years Expected standard

Leaders prioritise children in the early years getting off to a positive start. The curriculum is clearly sequenced to support the 2-year-old provision to the end of Reception Year. It is rooted in developing children’s communication and language, recognising that many arrive in the setting with lower starting points. Staff assess children’s speech and language skills quickly on entry so that any gaps can be identified and addressed early.

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Early years Expected standard

Children benefit from warm relationships to help them to feel safe and secure. The school works closely with parents and carers to be involved in their child’s learning journey from the very start. For example, an open afternoon in the nursery enables parents to be immersed in their child’s learning experiences.

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Early years Expected standard

Children learn in a language-rich environment with a range of opportunities to develop their communication and widen vocabulary, such as linking activities to their favourite stories. Staff help children to deepen their understanding with adult interactions that are typically purposeful and well considered.

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Early years Expected standard

Children get off to a secure start in learning to read and write. This is prioritised from the start of Reception Year. Any pupil who makes slower progress is identified and supported quickly. Staff keep a close eye on how well children are securing their writing skills, such as the use of a secure pencil grip and accuracy in letter formation.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders have developed a broad personal development and wellbeing offer to support pupils across the school. This offer is supplemented by the personal, social and health education curriculum that is carefully sequenced to prepare pupils well for life beyond the school. For example, pupils know how to lead a healthy lifestyle, both physically and mentally, through eating a balanced diet and exercising regularly. Older pupils have an age- appropriate understanding of how their bodies change and understand the importance of consent. Pupils have a secure understanding of how to stay safe, including when online. For example, they confidently share the dangers of speaking to strangers online, as well as not sharing personal data.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Pupils are supported to be well prepared for life in modern Britain. They generally show respect for each other. They are taught about differences and celebrate how we are all unique. Pupils learn about different faiths, and some pupils can recall important knowledge, for example places of worship. Pupils have a lived experience of democracy, such as through the voting of house captains and school councillors.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Pupils value the trips they experience beyond the school. They learn about local history and Cornish culture, such as visiting a local tin mine. A Year 6 residential visit to London provides an opportunity for pupils to develop their understanding of a diverse city that differs to Penryn. Residentials for younger pupils, such as the night time walk to spot owls, promotes independence and resilience as they experience being away from home. Leaders track

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Needs attention

participation of its wider offer, ensuring that pupils who are disadvantaged or with special educational needs and/or disabilities benefit.

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Needs attention

The school supports pupils’ wellbeing in a variety of ways. Key adults in the school help pupils when they need emotional support, including the school counsellor.

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Achievement Needs attention

There is too much variability in how well some pupils are learning the curriculum. By the end of key stage 2, pupils are generally ready for secondary school, with outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics close to average over time, including for disadvantaged pupils. However, some pupils do not learn the curriculum as well. Leaders have begun to take action to address this variability. For example, a refined approach to teaching number fluency has improved pupils’ performance in the multiplication tables check. However, it is early days. Some pupils struggle to recall an appropriate depth of knowledge across the curriculum.

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Achievement Needs attention

Phonics is a strength, as reflected in outcomes in the phonics screening check in 2025 that are significantly above average. Leaders have prioritised improving writing, particularly accuracy and fluency in early years and in key stage 1, where this support is helping these pupils to write well. However, some pupils who struggle with writing in key stage 2 do not receive the same support quickly enough. As a result, weaknesses in handwriting, spelling and punctuation persist, and the quality of some pupils' written work is not of high quality.

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Attendance and behaviour Needs attention

The attendance of some pupils, including those who are disadvantaged and with special educational needs and/or disabilities, is too low. This impacts how well these pupils achieve academically and socially. The school tracks the attendance of pupils and supports pupils and families to work together to improve this. For example, leaders use the school minibus to transport pupils who struggle to get to school. As a result of leaders’ actions, the attendance of some pupils has improved, resulting in overall attendance getting closer to the national average. Nevertheless, it remains stubbornly below average and too many pupils are persistently absent.

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Attendance and behaviour Needs attention

Leaders have refined the school’s approach to the management of behaviour with the launch of a new policy. They are working with staff to develop the expertise needed for a consistent approach that promotes more pupils showing positive attitudes to their learning. However, some staff do not apply the systems consistently in the way that leaders intend. As a result, some pupils are not clear how the system supports them to be successful, including some pupils not taking pride in their written work. Pupils are clear about what bullying means. However, a small minority of pupils and parents feel that concerns about bullying are not always addressed quickly enough by leaders and so they persist.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

The school has designed a broad and ambitious curriculum that makes it clear to teachers what to teach and when, including for those pupils in the special education needs unit. However, the quality of how well the curriculum is taught is too variable across the school. Some teachers do not present pupils with learning tasks that enable them to deepen their knowledge securely over time. This is because teachers have not developed their expertise well enough to ensure that the curriculum is adapted routinely based on pupils’ prior knowledge, including for those pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. This hampers the progress that pupils make from their starting points. Where the teaching of the curriculum is more effective, the checks teachers make on how well pupils learn are more precise. This leads to giving pupils time to revisit gaps in knowledge to ensure that these do not persist.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Leaders understand how well some subjects are taught, such as in phonics. They have supported staff to develop their subject knowledge and expertise in the teaching of early reading. This ensures that pupils are well supported to become confident and fluent readers.

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Inclusion Needs attention

While the school has systems to identify pupils with additional needs, some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) do not get the support they need to consistently learn well. This is because some learning plans vary in how precisely they identify and support pupils’ significant gaps in knowledge. Where targets are too broad, pupils do not receive the adaptations to the curriculum they need to learn well. Leaders do not have a sufficiently accurate oversight of how well some pupils with SEND achieve. They do not check the impact of planned support rigorously enough to ensure that pupils receive timely, appropriate help.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Leaders have provided training to develop staff's expertise in supporting pupils with SEND. This is helping more pupils to access learning, for example more staff use visual aids and Makaton to support communication. However, some training is in its infancy and so the school’s approach to SEND is not yet consistently embedded. This impacts how well pupils with SEND learn the curriculum, including those in the special educational needs unit.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Leaders work effectively with wider professionals and parents and carers to support pupils. Vulnerable pupils, such as young carers, speak positively about the support they receive. Leaders have recently refined how they evaluate the use of additional funding to support disadvantaged pupils so that they are clearer about the academic and social impact on pupils.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Leaders, including trust leaders and those responsible for governance, have a broad understanding of the school’s strengths and areas that require further improvement. They have identified some priorities, such as strengthening the teaching of mathematics and improving writing in key stage 1, where their work is making a difference. However, leaders’ oversight is not developed well enough to hold an accurate view of how well the school is performing. They do not identify the areas in need of improvement quickly enough, including the variability in staff's expectations of what pupils know and can do. This impacts on how well pupils learn. Staff's instability has slowed improvements in some areas, including in the special educational needs unit. Leaders recognise that further work is needed to stabilise staffing and strengthen staff's expertise so that pupils with additional needs are consistently supported well.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Leaders have systems in place to monitor key aspects of the school’s work, including attendance, behaviour and safeguarding. While records are kept to analyse trends and patterns, on occasions, these do not always capture the decisions made or the actions taken. This reduces leaders’ ability to evaluate the impact of their work in response to concerns.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Those responsible for governance fulfil their statutory duties. They have begun to gather the views of parents to have an accurate view of this partnership work with the school. This has helped leaders to respond to some feedback, such as around communication and a small number of bullying concerns. However, leaders have not checked the impact of this work, and so some parents and carers continue to have some unresolved concerns.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Staff generally feel their workload and wellbeing are well supported. They value the training provided to develop their subject knowledge, such as in the teaching of phonics.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils value Penryn Primary Academy as a caring school. They know the importance of ensuring that everyone is included. One pupil, who summed up the view of many, said, ‘We are helping other people and making them kind and happy.’ Pupils enjoy their social times and play well with each other.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Children in the early years get off to a successful start. This prepares them well for the next stage of their education. However, as pupils move further up the school, they do not learn the curriculum as well. Variation in the teaching of the curriculum results in some pupils not gaining the depth of knowledge they need to be well prepared for future learning. This includes some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) who do not benefit often enough from curriculum adaptations to help them to succeed. Provision in the special educational needs unit has been impacted by staff turbulence, which has slowed the development of staff's expertise.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Staff build positive relationships with pupils to help them to feel well cared for. Most pupils follow the school routines well, resulting in a calm and orderly school. They generally feel safe and know an adult they can talk to if they have any worries or concerns. Nevertheless, a small number of pupils and parents and carers do not feel their bullying concerns are resolved quickly enough. Most pupils enjoy coming to school. However, some pupils, including those who are disadvantaged or with SEND, do not attend well enough.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils are given regular opportunities to develop their talents and interests. They participate in a range of clubs, including crafts, basketball and dodgeball. Pupils develop a love of music, for example the choir attend countywide events, such as ‘Songfest’. Pupils are supported to be active and responsible citizens through their pupil leadership roles, including school council, sports leaders and house captains.

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Next steps

Leaders, including the trust, need to strengthen their monitoring of improvement priorities and ensure that their record-keeping accurately reflects the school’s decisions and actions so that they can evaluate the impact of their work more effectively. Leaders should support staff to develop the expertise needed to meet the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and check with rigour that training leads to these pupils receiving the support they need to learn the curriculum well. Leaders should support teachers in raising their expectations of what pupils can achieve and ensure that learning tasks reflect the ambition of the curriculum so that pupils build their knowledge securely from their starting points to develop a deeper understanding across subjects. Leaders need to ensure that pupils in key stage 2 with significant gaps in writing are given the support they need to become accurate and fluent writers across the curriculum.

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Next steps

Leaders should strengthen their work with parents and carers to support effective partnerships and ensure that any remaining concerns are swiftly addressed. Leaders need to ensure that the number of pupils who are persistently absent reduces, including disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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About this inspection

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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About this inspection

Inspectors carried out this full inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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About this inspection

Following our renewed inspection framework, all inspections are now led by His Majesty’s Inspectors (HMIs) or by Ofsted Inspectors (OIs) who have previously served as HMIs.

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About this inspection

Inspectors spoke with the head of school, other senior leaders and school staff. The lead inspector met with the chair of the trust board and trust leaders, including the CEO.

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About this inspection

Inspectors considered responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including free- text comments. Inspectors also considered responses to Ofsted’s staff survey. There were no responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey.

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About this inspection

The inspectors confirmed the following information about the school:

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Team inspectors:

Jonathan Gower, Ofsted Inspector Sarah Jane Tustain, Ofsted Inspector

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Facts and figures used on inspection

The data was used by the inspector(s) during the inspection. More recent data may have been published since the inspection took place.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils currently at this school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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525

Well above average There is a local authority enhanced special educational needs and/or disabilities Area Resource Base on the site of the school. It is attended by 19 pupils with severe and/or complex learning difficulties.

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525

The school takes children from 2 years old in its nursery provision under the same registration.

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525

The school currently uses one registered alternative provision.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils who can attend the school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with an education, health and care plan. This covers pupils with more support than is available through special educational needs support.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with reported special educational support needs at the school.

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What does this mean?

Based on the English Indices of Deprivation (2019) and the school's location, we have calculated whether the school is located in a more or less deprived area.

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What does this mean?

Whether school has Resourced Provision or SEND unit (if applicable).

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What does this mean?

The type of Special Educational Needs provision provided at the school (if applicable).

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standards in a combined reading, writing and mathematics measure.

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average

2024/25 (revised) 65% 62% Close to average

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average

2023/24 (final) 64% 61% Close to average

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average

2022/23 (final) 63% 60% Close to average

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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average

2023/24 (final) 77% 74% Close to average

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing.

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average

2024/25 (revised) 70% 72% Close to average

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average

2023/24 (final) 73% 72% Close to average

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average

2022/23 (final) 73% 71% Close to average

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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average

2024/25 (revised) 77% 74% Close to average

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average

2023/24 (final) 75% 73% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after.

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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics.

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average

2023/24 (final) 44% 46% Close to average

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average

2022/23 (final) 56% 44% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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average

2024/25 (revised) 65% 63% Close to average

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average

2023/24 (final) 69% 62% Close to average

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average

2022/23 (final) 64% 60% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing.

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average

2024/25 (revised) 70% 59% Close to average

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average

2023/24 (final) 56% 58% Close to average

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average

2022/23 (final) 68% 58% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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average

2023/24 (final) 63% 59% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance gap

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after. The school disadvantage gap is the difference between the performance of the school's disadvantaged pupils compared to the performance of all non-disadvantaged pupils nationally.

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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics, including the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics and the disadvantaged gap.

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Overall absence

The percentage of all possible mornings and afternoons missed due to absence from school (for whatever reason, whether authorised or unauthorised) across all pupils.

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national average

2024/25 (2 term) 5.6% 5.2% Close to average

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Persistent absence

The percentage of pupils missing 10% or more of their possible mornings and afternoons.

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national average

2022/23 (3 term) 18.9% 16.2% Close to average

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other schools can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The school reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The school is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The school needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care. services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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