Schools & FE · Report card

Carclaze Community Primary School

Inspected 6 May 2026 · published 16 Jun 2026 · URN 141710

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Summary

No overall grade in this frameworkSafeguarding met

Jason Edge (lead), Marcus West, Tracy Hannon

What we read, and from where

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Achievement verified
Expected standard
Attendance and behaviour verified
Expected standard
Curriculum and teaching verified
Expected standard
Early years verified
Needs attention
Inclusion verified
Expected standard
Leadership and governance verified
Expected standard
Personal development and wellbeing verified
Expected standard
Framework verified
Report card
Inspection datesingle source
6 May 2026
Inspectors verified
Jason Edge, Marcus West, Tracy Hannon
Postcode verified
PL25 3TF
Name on report verified
Carclaze Community Primary School
Safeguarding verified
Met
URN verified
141710

Page 1 of 15

Deep dive

What this report says

In plain English

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Grade profile

Each judgement on its scale, weakest to strongest.

AchievementExpected
Attendance and behaviourExpected
Curriculum and teachingExpected
Early yearsNeeds attention
InclusionExpected
Leadership and governanceExpected
Personal development and wellbeingExpected

Tone of the report

How positive or critical the inspectors' language is, from the words they chose. No AI involved.

+45Positivemore positive than 18% of reports of this type

In line with other reports of this type.

Praisepositivehigh expectationseffectivelyambitiousvery effectivefeel safesecureeager

Criticismconcernslackstruggleweaknessesnot effectiveshortcomingstoo fewfall behind

How the report reads, start to finish

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FindingsSafeguardingAbout the inspectionLeadershipWhat needs to improve positive critical

Findings1600w+47
Leadership233w+4
Safeguarding51w−11
What needs to improve58w+69

Strengths

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Concerns

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In particular, too many children lack the basic skills they need for writing. p.4

Next steps

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What the report dwells on

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Anatomy of the report

How the report is built, against others of the same type and grade.

Pages: 15
Words of findings: 1,938; about usual (typical 1698)
Reading level: Fairly hard; Flesch 52, typical 43
Average sentence: 14 words
Next steps: 3; typical 3
Hedged sentences: 16%; “some”, “not always”, “most”…

Where the words go

Findings 54%Leadership 8%Safeguarding 2%What needs to improve 2%About the inspection 35%

Full report text

Carclaze Community Primary School

Address: St Piran's Close, St Austell, Cornwall, PL25 3TF Unique reference number (URN): 141710

p.1

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.

p.1

How we evaluate safeguarding

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

p.1

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.

p.1

Achievement Expected standard

On the whole, pupils make suitable progress through the curriculum. Phonics is a particular strength. Over time, most pupils secure the phonics knowledge they need in Year 1 to prepare them for more demanding texts as they move through the school. Pupils also secure the times tables knowledge they need by the end of Year 4. This is reflected in pupils’ outcomes in the 2025 multiplication tables check, which were above the national average.

p.2

Achievement Expected standard

By the end of key stage 2, pupils generally achieve well in reading, writing and mathematics. This helps to prepare them for their next stage of learning. However, it is too soon to see the impact of leaders’ changes to the teaching of writing. Consequently, too few pupils achieve greater depth in this area. Furthermore, disadvantaged pupils do not achieve as highly in writing as they do in reading and mathematics. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities typically make steady progress from their starting points.

p.2

Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Leaders have established very effective attendance systems which are having a positive impact on improving pupils’ attendance. Leaders demonstrate tenacity and determination in their approach. They work relentlessly with families to remove barriers to attendance to help pupils attend school regularly. The school regularly reminds pupils, as well as parents and carers, of the importance of attending well. Through rigorous checks and swift intervention, rates of persistent absence have reduced. Overall attendance is now above national figures reflecting leaders' proactive work in this area.

p.2

Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Behaviour across the school is generally calm and orderly. Most pupils conduct themselves appropriately around the school and in lessons. They are confident and eager to talk to visitors about their learning. Classrooms are typically purposeful environments where most pupils respond positively to staff's expectations. Occasionally, a few pupils disengage with their learning and need help to refocus. In addition, a few pupils struggle to live up to leaders' high expectations of behaviour. This includes some pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs. Staff generally make the necessary adjustments to support these pupils effectively. Leaders deal swiftly and appropriately with any unkindness between pupils.

p.2

Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The school has a broad and balanced curriculum. It defines clearly what teachers need to teach and in what order. Leaders, in conjunction with the trust, make regular checks on the effectiveness of the curriculum. This helps them to have an accurate view of how effectively teachers are teaching the curriculum. Leaders also use this information to make changes to the curriculum. For example, they have recently improved the ambition of the writing curriculum to ensure that it improves pupils' outcomes. The trust has set out key principles of teaching, which teachers generally follow closely. For example, teachers use questioning effectively to check pupils' understanding and they explain new content well. Leaders prioritise ensuring that pupils secure the basic skills they need in English and mathematics. Teachers generally teach these well. For example, the teaching of phonics is well established and understood by staff. Pupils read books closely matched to the sounds

p.2

Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

they know. This helps them to practise the sounds they have learned in lessons. Pupils who fall behind are given appropriate support to help them catch up. Teachers sometimes do not correct mistakes in pupils' handwriting with enough rigour. As a result, for a few pupils, these errors in their writing persist. This includes some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

p.3

Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders and staff know the individual circumstances and backgrounds of pupils well. This helps them to provide additional help where necessary. For example, staff are highly aware of those pupils who are young carers who sometimes need further pastoral support. The school has effective systems for the identification of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). However, some changes in the trust's systems for SEND have caused some unrest for parents and carers. The trust acknowledges this process could have been handled better. Following feedback, leaders have made further improvements to ensure that parents are clearer about how these systems work in the school.

p.3

Inclusion Expected standard

Staff create learning plans for pupils with SEND which make it clear the support they need to be successful. Teachers use these to generally make appropriate adaptations for these pupils. Occasionally, some staff do not use these plans well. They do not use the most appropriate support for pupils in lessons. When this happens, some pupils disengage or struggle with their learning.

p.3

Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders use the additional funding for disadvantaged pupils well. They review its impact closely to inform targeting of weaker areas, such as writing. As a result, disadvantaged pupils achieve in line with disadvantaged pupils nationally.

p.3

Leadership and governance Expected standard

New leadership has brought a fresh perspective to the school. Leaders are clear in their ambition that although most pupils learn well, they can achieve even more. They are also starting to raise expectations in other aspects of the school's work. For instance, leaders have tweaked systems in behaviour and started to strengthen the provision for pupils with special education needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They take difficult decisions rooted in the belief of doing the best for all pupils. Leaders have an accurate view of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. For example, they recognise that further work is needed to ensure that children get off to the best possible start in the early years.

p.3

Leadership and governance Expected standard

However, the positive changes that leaders have made have also coincided with changes in the trust's systems in SEND and for curriculum and teaching. This has placed a strain on staff. While staff are proud to work at the school, a few have concerns about workload and wellbeing. Leaders and the trust acknowledge this and continue to work with staff to improve this. Staff appreciate the range of training and opportunities to help develop their expertise and further their careers. While the school mostly has positive and constructive relationships with parent and carers, their views on the school are mixed. This is mainly due to the lack of clarity or timeliness of some communication from the school and trust.

p.3

Needs attention

The trust has supported the school effectively. It provides additional resource where it is needed. Trustees keep a close eye on the school and know where it needs to do better. They fulfil their statutory duties effectively.

p.4

Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

The school has established an effective offer beyond the academic curriculum. New leaders are ambitious to strengthen this offer. The school has a well-established personal, social, health education (PSHE) programme. This has helped pupils to develop a secure knowledge in most of its topics. For example, pupils understand how to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Leaders also ensure that they adapt the PSHE content to reflect the school's context. This includes pupils learning about keeping safe by the sea, reflecting the school's coastal location. Pupils develop a secure knowledge about puberty in an age-appropriate way.

p.4

Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders have ensured that the academic curriculum content reflects a diversity of faiths and cultures. This is designed to help pupils understand more diverse parts of modern Britain. However, the impact of this is more limited on pupils' understanding than leaders intend. Nevertheless, pupils do demonstrate compassion and empathy for those groups in society who face discrimination.

p.4

Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders ensure that there are opportunities for all pupils. For example, they check which pupils represent the school in sports tournaments. They use this information to ensure that many pupils have opportunities to represent the school. Leaders check the take up of extra- curricular clubs by disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities closely. They generally work well with families to remove barriers for pupils attending these. However, leaders acknowledge there is more to do to improve the participation rates of these groups of pupils.

p.4

Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

The school develops pupils' appreciation and pride in the local community. It regularly invites visitors into the school to give talks on a range of topics. Pupils help those less fortunate in the local area through supporting a local foodbank. This helps pupils to become kind and caring individuals. The school provides appropriate pastoral support for those pupils who need it.

p.4

Early years Needs attention

The trust has provided additional support and guidance for staff in the early years. This has helped to make some improvements, such as the quality of the learning environment. However, while leaders have started to develop staff expertise, there is still more to do. Some teaching is not effective, or well matched to children’s needs. This is because some staff do not have high enough expectations of what children can do, both during lessons and other parts of the school day, such as transitions between activities. This includes children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. While the early years curriculum is suitably ambitious, too much of what children experience does not extend their learning in the way that it should. As a result, children's learning across the seven areas of learning is uneven. In particular, too many children lack the basic skills they need for writing. Staff do

p.4

Early years Needs attention

not emphasise key aspects, such as pencil grip and accurate letter formation well enough.

p.5

Early years Needs attention

Despite these shortcomings, children are happy in the environment. The school admits children from a wide range of different providers. Staff ensure they build warm and sensitive relationships with children. This helps children to settle quickly and display generally positive attitudes to learning.

p.5