Charlestown Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve leadership and management by: improving the quality of monitoring teaching and learning further and using the findings more precisely in improvement plans developing the curriculum so that pupils’ knowledge, understanding and skills improve further over time.
• Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment and the outcomes for pupils by: raising teachers’ expectations of all pupils, particularly the most able pupils, and challenging them appropriately in their written work developing teachers’ subject knowledge further so that they understand more clearly what pupils need to know, understand and do in order to make even better progress.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The school has improved significantly since the previous inspection. The headteacher, together with other leaders from the Atlantic Centre of Excellence Multi-Academy Trust, has established a clear vision for improvement and set high standards for all pupils. Well-focused teamwork has secured good leadership, teaching and pupils’ achievement.
• Leaders have strengthened the way they plan and implement actions to bring about improvement. This is evident in the effective use of additional funding to support the good progress of disadvantaged pupils. Leaders’ actions sustain the strong development of pupils’ personal development and behaviour. The support given to pupils with SEND has secured their good achievement.
• Physical education is a strength of the school and develops pupils’ love of physical activity. Pupils enjoy running the ‘daily mile’, which, they say, makes them feel ready to start lessons. Leaders make good use of the sport premium. For example, pupils take part in a range of local sporting competitions. In addition, a coach teaches higher level skills to those pupils who show an aptitude for sport. Parents and carers particularly value the sporting opportunities open to their children.
• Most parents who gave their views during the inspection or who responded to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, were positive about the school. They particularly value the school’s caring atmosphere and the way the school keeps their children safe.
• Leaders are developing a curriculum that gives pupils opportunities to apply their skills in phonics, reading and mathematics well. Educational visits, visitors to school and extra-curricular activities further enhance the curriculum. Pupils describe a range of experiences they enjoy, such as exciting mathematics challenges, active and practical lessons and after-school clubs, including those for Lego, football, golf and netball. Leaders acknowledge that there is more to do to develop the curriculum across all subjects further.
• The headteacher has the confidence of staff, and morale is high. Leaders are using the strengths of experienced staff to build leadership capacity. Middle leaders ensure that there is now a clear focus on teaching and learning and improving outcomes for pupils. However, this is at an early stage. Leaders have not developed a consistent system for supporting teachers in improving their practice in order to improve the progress of all pupils.
• Leaders have strengthened the way they check the work of the school and pay close attention to the academic outcomes of pupils. They have put processes in place to ensure that teachers are consistent in the way they teach subjects. However, leaders’ checks on teaching are not effective enough to ensure that pupils across the school make consistent progress. The evaluation of teaching and learning and the monitoring of pupils’ work in writing are not precise enough to achieve the school’s development plans.

Governance of the school

• Governors have high aspirations for pupils and are committed to ensuring that pupils achieve the very best that they can. They make regular visits to the school to check the progress that the school makes. They also play a valued role in sustaining good links with parents and the local community in support of pupils’ learning.
• Governors demonstrate a good awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of the school. Governors are becoming more adept at rigorously challenging school leaders about the achievement of different groups of learners. They question leaders and hold them to account for the quality of teaching.
• Governors fulfil their statutory duties well. Effective training for governors helps them to fulfil these duties consistently. Governors are diligent in checking the safeguarding policy and procedures, the single central record and the safe recruitment of staff.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Staff work well as a team and share a strong commitment to keeping pupils safe.
• Leaders have developed a strong culture of safeguarding, which is a high priority for the school. Staff receive high-quality training in safeguarding and are clear about the actions they must take if they have concerns about a pupil or a member of staff. Comprehensive safeguarding systems are in place, are fully embedded and they permeate the life of the school. School leaders ensure that safeguarding issues are quickly identified. Close liaison with outside agencies, including the police, result in timely responses to pupils’ needs.
• Pupils have a high level of confidence in staff providing them with a safe environment where they can talk about issues that may be concerning them. Parents value highly the measures that the school takes in keeping their children safe.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Positive relationships in all classes underpin the good teaching and pupils’ learning across the school. Teachers and teaching assistants set consistently high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. They place a strong and consistent emphasis on pupils helping each other to learn.
• Teachers promote pupils’ interest in learning by a thought-provoking range of learning activities. Pupils in Year 5 show commitment to learning as they consider the emotions people might feel when writing a poem about the London blitz. Teachers choose specific topics to gain pupils’ attention. In Year 4, pupils are excited when they make, evaluate and test sandals that a Roman soldier would wear in his daily work.
• Teachers use questioning effectively to move pupils’ learning forward. They ask ‘what’, ‘why’ and ‘how’ questions to deepen learning and develop pupils’ thinking. As a result, pupils’ knowledge, skills and understanding are developing well over time. Teachers plan work to ensure that pupils build on their prior learning effectively. However, teachers’ understanding of what pupils need to do precisely in lessons is not always clear. Planning is not sharp enough in subjects, other than English and mathematics, to ensure that pupils make good progress.
• Leaders have recently introduced a set of ‘non-negotiables’ in the presentation and assessment of pupils’ work. This is generally proving successful, although at times improvements are not clear enough in pupils’ work. For example, while teachers’ expectations for presentation of work have raised the quality of punctuation, sentence structure and grammar, writing across the school is occasionally not yet of a high enough standard. This is because teaching does not build precisely enough on these skills acquired in previous learning. In addition, some teaching does not challenge the most able pupils enough in order for them to make the best progress in writing. This results in these pupils not producing the best work that they are capable of in writing.
• Pupils develop their phonics knowledge and understanding well. Teachers adopt a consistent approach to teaching reading skills. They provide pupils with appropriate work that matches their ability, including pupils who need additional support in key stage 2. Pupils practise and rehearse key words and phrases and teachers take time to check pupils’ understanding of vocabulary. Pupils use their phonics to help them to spell words accurately. The phonics leader monitors teaching daily to ensure that pupils are making good progress or to ascertain whether they need further support. Teachers are supported well in teaching phonics, and the leader models good practice to further improve teachers’ skills.
• Whenever possible, teachers provide opportunities for pupils to develop reading skills and understanding. There are many opportunities for pupils to conduct research. For example, pupils in Year 6 research the features of a range of unknown animals in order to classify them correctly. The acquisition of vocabulary and the development of language are high priorities.
• Pupils work hard and most take a pride in their work. They are learning how to evaluate their successes. Pupils learn strategies to help themselves when they are stuck, but they do not always remember these. As a result, pupils are sometimes not able to make the best use of the time available to them.
• Reading, writing and mathematics skills are well developed across the curriculum. Writing in other subjects is of the same quality as in pupils’ literacy books. However, teachers sometimes limit what pupils can achieve because their expectations are too low.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Pupils are confident learners. They show good and sometimes excellent attitudes to learning. On occasion, a few pupils are over-reliant on adult help. Others have difficulty sustaining concentration and their learning falters.
• Pupils contribute well in lessons because they have strong relationships with staff and each other. They are comfortable sharing their ideas and asking questions. They work enthusiastically in pairs and groups and enjoy supporting each other in their learning.
• Pupils have a good understanding of the different types of bullying. They are confident that bullying will be dealt with quickly by staff when it happens. Pupils say that they feel safe because they know that adults will help them. They know how to stay safe when online.
• Pupils look after each other well and know that adults in school will help and support them. Pupils demonstrate a clear understanding of tolerance and respect. They readily accept their differences and support pupils who may need extra emotional support. For example, pupils explained how ‘Freddy’, the school mascot and therapy dog, plays football and helps them learn.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils are polite and courteous and demonstrate good manners. They move around the school in an orderly manner, while at breaktimes pupils play happily together and abide by the rules to keep them safe.
• Pupils work well together. In lessons, they mostly listen carefully and cooperate well with each other. Pupils generally work hard and are focused and engaged in their learning. Inspectors observed no incidents of low-level disruption.
• Pupils clearly enjoy school, and this is seen in the improved rate of attendance, which now matches that found nationally. The proportion of pupils who regularly miss school has also fallen and is now in line with national averages.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Since the previous inspection, leaders and teachers, diligently supported by the trust, have focused successfully on improving pupils’ achievements. Over time, across all year groups, pupils show continued improvement in reading and strong progress in mathematics. Pupils’ progress, particularly for the most able, in writing has fluctuated more widely. This reflects weaker learning historically and different skills on starting school, with pupils often transferring from other schools during the year.
• Pupils demonstrate strong speaking, listening and physical motor skills, which support good learning across the range of subjects in the school. For example, pupils respond enthusiastically during music lessons and recently took part in an orchestral composition and recital with a professional company, the Bath Philharmonia. Sports teams also hold a plethora of trophies after competing in a very wide and varied range of events against other schools in the area.
• Pupils are making good progress in mathematics and reading. Their progress in writing, however, remains too variable across year groups. Most pupils present their work neatly, and handwriting skills are improving. However, some pupils have not acquired the knowledge of sentences and range of vocabulary to be confident writers.
• Pupils’ reading skills develop well. Teachers plan reading sessions that skilfully use stimulating texts to enthuse pupils and extend their vocabulary as well as their comprehension skills. Teachers assess pupils’ progress regularly. The phonics leader supports staff well to match work carefully to the ability of each pupil. As a result, learning moves on quickly and pupils make good progress. Pupils who do not reach the required standard in the phonics screening check in Years 1 and 2 have good support that helps them to catch up with their peers.
• Outcomes for disadvantaged pupils are good. They make good progress because they are well supported by teachers in and out of class. Pupils with SEND make good progress against their targets because the staff know them well and provide appropriate support. Parents appreciate the support that the school gives their children, both academically and emotionally.

Early years provision Good

• Children join the Reception class with knowledge, skills and understanding that is often below that typically expected for their age. They make good progress from their starting points so that the proportions of children who achieve a good level of development by the end of the Reception year is above the national average.
• Children in the early years make good progress because teachers ensure that they develop early writing, reading and mathematical skills. Teachers have high expectations of what children can achieve from the moment they start school.
• Leaders and teachers have a good understanding of the requirements of effective early years provision. They assess the children’s needs accurately, they contribute effectively to planning relevant next steps in learning activities and they record and evaluate the progress that each child makes. This includes an online assessment system that parents can add to and celebrate their children’s achievements at home.
• As seen in other year groups in the school, the teaching of phonics is strong. Teachers are targeting the development of early writing skills better than in the past. The teaching of mathematics is also starting much earlier in a child’s school career, to ensure that they have a clear understanding of how numbers work. However, there are occasions when these skills are not given enough emphasis, particularly when children undertake activities they have chosen for themselves.
• Routines are well established. Children respond well to adults and behave well. Disadvantaged children and those who have additional needs are supported sensitively so that they make good progress. Children whose starting points are low are given effective support to catch up quickly.
• Children engage very well in most activities which are led by adults. Because of high expectations, children listen carefully and can explain their learning well. Children’s concentration levels are good. They share well and take turns with each other. When undertaking and completing challenges set by teachers, children’s ability to work independently is usually good.
• Teachers plan challenges that interest and motivate children to work together, such as using large bricks to build a cage for a dragon. Children learn to persevere until they are happy with their work.
• Leaders ensure that the statutory safeguarding and welfare requirements are met. The school has taken all reasonable steps to ensure that children are safe in the Reception class.

School details

Unique reference number 136760 Local authority Cornwall Inspection number 10058303 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Academy converter Age range of pupils 4 to 11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 332 Appropriate authority Atlantic Centre of Excellence Multi-Academy Trust Chair Tasha Davis Headteacher Mark Clutsom Telephone number 01726 812 831 Website www.charlestown.cornwall.sch.uk Email address head@charlestown.cornwall.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 4 to 5 October 2016

Information about this school

• A new headteacher joined the school in October 2016.
• The school is an average-sized primary school. The school joined the Atlantic Centre of Excellence Multi-Academy Trust in 2015.
• The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is below the national average.
• The proportion of pupils with SEND is slightly lower than national averages. The proportion of pupils who have an education, health and care plan is much lower than national averages.
• The majority of pupils are from White British backgrounds.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors met with the school’s leadership team to consider the evaluation of the school and current improvement priorities.
• Interviews were held with representatives from the school’s local advisory board, the chair of directors and the chief executive officer of the trust.
• Inspectors and school leaders observed teaching and learning in each class. Inspectors scrutinised a range of pupils’ books from Reception class to Year 6. An inspector visited the Reception classes and took account of children’s work.
• Inspectors met with pupils from key stages 1 and 2 to gain their views of the school’s work as well as listen to them read.
• Inspectors also attended the wraparound care provision and a school assembly.
• The views of 100 parents who responded to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, including written comments, were evaluated. Inspectors also met with parents to gather their views.
• An inspector met with the school’s designated safeguarding leader. Together they reviewed safeguarding documentation and the school’s single central register. In addition, the inspector reviewed the school’s safeguarding policies, procedure and culture.
• Inspectors met middle leaders, including those responsible for leading literacy, phonics and early years. Inspectors also met with the special educational needs coordinator, the pupil premium leader and the sports premium leader.
• A range of documentation was scrutinised, including: the school’s self-evaluation; the school’s improvement and impact plan; information on pupils’ progress and attainment; records of behaviour; monitoring and evaluation of teaching and learning; minutes of local academy board meetings and the impact of pupil premium and sports fund spending.

Inspection team

Julie Jane, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Non Davies Ofsted Inspector Rachel Miller Ofsted Inspector