Treverbyn Academy Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Strengthen the quality of teaching and learning by ensuring that:
  • pupils develop strategies to help themselves when they are unsure about how to continue their learning
  • teachers provide the most able pupils with effective challenge which stretches them and ensures their progress is rapid.
• Ensure that leaders:
  • raise attainment further by evaluating more effectively the impact of teaching on the progress of different groups of pupils
  • monitor the curriculum more systematically to develop fully pupils’ knowledge, skills and understanding across each key stage.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The school has improved significantly since the previous inspection. The head of school, together with other leaders across the multi-academy trust, has established a clear direction for improvement and set high standards for all pupils. Her thorough and systematic approach to increasing the school’s effectiveness has ensured that improvements in teaching, learning and leadership are sustainable.

• The head of school has the confidence of staff and morale is high. Overwhelmingly, staff believe that the school has improved tremendously since she took up her post and are proud to work there.
• Leaders at all levels acknowledge the invaluable support they have received from the multi-academy trust. They appreciate the depth of challenge given to them to plan improvements effectively. Partnership work with other schools in the trust has ensured that good practice is shared and that teachers’ assessments are accurate.
• The school’s evaluation of its performance is accurate. The head of school, along with the executive headteacher, have used the expertise available to them through the multi-academy trust to help validate their judgements. As a result, their plans to develop the school identify the correct priorities and have the capacity to bring about further improvement.
• The senior leaders’ drive to raise attainment by setting pupils challenging targets is having a positive effect in raising standards, particularly in key stage 2. Pupils’ resilience and self-confidence are increasing in the main, so that all groups of pupils make good progress. The most able pupils, however, do not receive sufficient challenge to make even more rapid progress and there are times when some pupils remain unsure how to move on in their learning.
• Senior and middle leaders demonstrate a clear understanding of actions needed to improve the areas they are responsible for. They have introduced effective improvements to teaching, especially in English and mathematics. They check the quality of teaching regularly and follow this up with helpful guidance to teachers. However, their evaluations do not identify precisely enough the impact of teaching on different groups of pupils. As a result, pupils do not always make the progress they are capable of.
• Leaders continue a positive drive to raise pupils’ achievements further. Over the most recent year, the attainment of disadvantaged pupils has risen. The school has used the pupil premium grant to good effect. An effective range of precisely targeted, supportive measures ensure that these pupils make good progress, and have access to school trips and residential visits.
• Support for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is very well planned. As a result, it is effective in promoting good progress and ensuring that they are fully included in school life. Additional funds are therefore used effectively.
• The school uses the sport premium effectively to increase levels of participation in both sporting activities and competitions. Staff have improved their skills in teaching physical education through working alongside expert coaches. This enables the school to provide a variety of popular clubs such as a lunchtime yoga class.
• The curriculum is broad and pupils enjoy learning a range of subjects through topics chosen well to excite them. However, leaders do not plan and monitor its content sufficiently to ensure teaching of all aspects of the national curriculum by the time pupils leave the school. Homework is well planned and extends the learning in lessons effectively. Additional activities, such as visiting local attractions, residential visits and cultural events help to promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well.
• Parents are extremely supportive of the school and its leadership. They are pleased with the improvements leaders have made since the previous inspection and value the approachability of the head of school and her team.

Governance of the school

• Governance is effective.
• Those who have responsibility for governance, the St Austell Hub locality councillors, work closely with the directors and other leaders of the Aspire multi-academy trust as well as working well with the new head of school. They have been closely involved in her efforts to raise attainment and improve standards.
• The school has experienced instability in senior management and middle leadership roles since the last inspection. Senior leaders in the trust have acted appropriately to increase effectiveness of the leadership structure in improving standards.
• Designated directors challenge and support different aspects of the school’s work effectively, including the achievement of those pupils with additional needs and disadvantaged pupils.
• The hub councillors have a clear understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses as they monitor the school’s work for themselves on a regular basis. This insight enables them to challenge leaders rigorously about outcomes for different groups of pupils. They understand how additional funds are spent to support disadvantaged pupils to achieve well. Through a detailed analysis of pupils’ achievement by the head of school, they have a good view of how well the school is performing compared to other schools nationally and locally.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Safeguarding receives the highest priority in the school. The head of school diligently checks that policies and practices and records are up to date. Leaders ensure that safeguarding procedures meet statutory requirements. Staff and managers are well trained and fully informed about the latest guidance for ensuring pupils’ safety and well-being in areas such as child protection. Parents confirm that their children are safe and well cared for in school.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teaching is good. It has improved over the past year because teachers receive clear and consistent guidance from leaders about how to promote effective learning.

• Teachers plan and provide lessons which are typically engaging and build successfully on pupils’ positive attitudes to learning. For example, during the inspection teachers planned lessons around a visit to the Eden Project to link learning across the curriculum. This and a good range of other visits have developed pupils’ understanding further and extended their enjoyment of learning.
• Teachers consistently and effectively make use of the school’s good assessment system to measure pupils’ progress. They make effective use of the information from their assessments when planning lessons.
• Teachers and teaching assistants have high expectations of pupils’ achievement and their behaviour. As a result, pupils learn successfully and the presentation of their work is generally good.
• Teachers, teaching assistants and staff responsible for pastoral care provided skilled and extremely sensitive support for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. They give pupils useful strategies for managing their learning as well as their behaviour, successfully helping them to integrate fully into all activities. Pupils who have been identified as needing extra help, including those who are struggling with their work and falling behind, are given timely support to help them improve. This is particularly effective for pupils for whom extra funding has been allocated.
• Pupils confidently demonstrate what they know, understand and can do when explaining their ideas and when evaluating the effectiveness of their methods, for example when solving problems in mathematics. However, sometimes teachers do not fully challenge pupils, particularly the most able, to deepen their understanding and develop their ideas.
• The quality of teaching of reading and phonics is good and ensures that pupils quickly become fluent readers. This has resulted in a rapid improvement in achievement since the last inspection.
• The teaching of writing has improved and is now effective. The current emphasis on accurate spelling, grammar and punctuation is ensuring that the quality of pupils’ written work across subjects is of good quality.
• Some groups of pupils do not understand clearly enough what they have to do in lessons. On these occasions, pupils depend on adult support to start work or to move on to next steps in learning. This results in some lost time when pupils are not learning.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.

• Effective relationships make the school a welcoming place to learn. Parents are pleased with their children’s attitudes to learning.
• From an early age, children clearly show that they want to please their teachers and learn effectively. They work well together with high levels of concentration.
• Pupils are proud to take on additional roles and responsibilities. In the Reception class children are eager to be the ‘special helper’. They carry out their duties, for example putting the fruit out for snack time, very diligently.
• Pupils say they feel very safe in school and when out on school visits. Parents who completed the online survey or who spoke to inspectors state that their children are happy and enjoy coming to school.
• Pupils say there is little poor behaviour and school records support their views. They say that sometimes other pupils are annoying and unkind but that adults deal with this promptly and mostly effectively.
• Pupils have a clear understanding of what constitutes bullying and the forms it can take, such as cyber bullying. They are clear that bullying and aggressive or derogatory language are not tolerated at school.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.

• Parents, pupils and staff agree that the good behaviour seen during the inspection is typical and is a positive factor in pupils’ learning.
• Pupils are mostly polite, courteous, friendly and considerate of others’ feelings. Disruptive behaviour in lessons is rare, reflecting teachers’ high expectations of the way they should behave.
• Pupils maintain good levels of concentration when working, either on their own or cooperating in pairs or small groups. Pupils talk sensibly about their ideas and listen to each other respectfully. There is a happy and very purposeful atmosphere in lessons.
• Pupils’ attendance has improved over time but is still below national rates. The school’s pastoral team work effectively with parents to encourage regular attendance, particularly where persistent absences are too high. The large majority of pupils attend well and many absences are due to illness or medical problems.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Many children join the school with skills and abilities at levels that are well below those typical for their age. From these starting points, current pupils make rapid progress. As a result, by the time they leave the Reception class their achievement is broadly typical for their age. Pupils continue to achieve well across the school.

• Over the past year, pupils in key stage 1 and key stage 2 have made faster progress and attainment has risen, particularly in grammar, punctuation and spelling. Pupils are now on track to achieve the standards expected of them and to be ready for the next stage of their education.
• Very effective use of the pupil premium enables most disadvantaged pupils to achieve at least as well as others from similar starting points. This is because leaders have identified where most needs lie for this group and have deployed staff to support their learning. The good progress that these pupils make ensures that any shortfalls in their attainment diminish by the end of Year 6.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make good progress as they receive well-tailored support from skilled staff. They are proud of their achievements and keen to try their best.
• The most able pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, generally make good progress. Sometimes, however, in some lessons and in some year groups a few of the most able pupils are not challenged fully by the activities in place, particularly in mathematics.
• In the past two years, the number of pupils achieving the expected standard in phonics has risen. In 2016, the proportion was higher than that found nationally, except for disadvantaged pupils. The proportion of current Year 1 pupils achieving the expected standard has increased on 2016 for all groups of pupils.
• The most able readers in key stage 1 read with fluency, expression and obvious enjoyment. The most able Year 6 pupils read challenging texts at a greater pace than has been the case previously. The increased emphasis teachers have placed on the quality of pupils’ written responses to their reading ensures that their comprehension skills are developing well.
• Pupils are developing fluency in their mathematical calculation skills and can explain clearly their understanding. They apply these skills to solving problems in other aspects of mathematics. However, sometimes pupils lose valuable time waiting for help from adults in order to be confident when starting their written work.
• Pupils write to a good standard across subjects and are becoming more accurate in their spelling. They continually strive to improve their writing and standards are now broadly in line with those expected nationally. As a result of strong teaching, speaking and listening skills are developing rapidly across the school.
• A scrutiny of pupils’ work in books provides evidence of good progress across all subjects. During the inspection, pupils in Year 6 extended their scientific knowledge by investigating Archimedes’ death ray in order to explore travelling light and angles.

Early years provision Good

• Very effective arrangements ensure that children make a positive start to school life. The school works well with other agencies to ensure they settle into their new routines very quickly and become comfortable in their new environment.
• Parents are appreciative of the care taken to ensure that their children are happy and safe. They find the school a ‘friendly place’ and the staff approachable and sensitive to the needs of their children.
• Most children enter the school with knowledge and skills well below those typically found for their age, particularly in language and communication. From their starting points, current pupils now make rapid progress across all areas of learning. This is an improvement on previous years, and results from leaders recognising the need to make organisational changes in order to improve standards.
• In recent years, the proportion of children reaching a good level of development has been below average. A high proportion of current children are already reaching a good level of development, except for those children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. All children make good progress from their starting points.
• With strong support from teaching assistants, the teacher thoroughly and accurately evaluates skills on entry by comprehensively assessing day-to-day activities inside and outside the classroom. Parents add to this assessment through the use of an online assessment system to record children’s achievements at home. These assessments of a wide and varied range of activities which develop children’s skills, knowledge and understanding track children’s progress effectively throughout the year.
• Disadvantaged children and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities have their needs identified at an early stage. The school works well with other agencies to ensure their needs are met effectively, for example in the development of personal hygiene skills.
• School leaders check that all possible steps are taken to ensure that children are safeguarded. Children are supervised closely and understand safety rules. They move in an orderly manner from one activity to another, and play safely both inside and outside the classroom.
• Teaching is good. The effective teaching of phonics underpins the development of early reading and writing skills very effectively. Children develop their mathematics skills through a good range of practical activities.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 137076 Cornwall 10033129 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Sponsor academy 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 201 Appropriate authority Academy trust Hub councillors Emma Goudge, Louise Burt Executive headteacher Head of school Telephone number Website Email address Vanessa Bragg Kate Whitford 01726 850503 www.treverbyn.org.uk secretary@treverbyn.org.uk Date of previous inspection 7–8 May 2015

Information about this school

• The school complies with Department for Education guidance on what academies should publish.
• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• This school is smaller than the average primary school. Pupils are organised in seven classes, all of which are single-age groups.
• The school is sponsored by the Aspire Academy Trust.
• The head of school took up the substantive post in September 2015, following a time of interim leadership.
• The very large majority of pupils are White British.
• All the children in the early years (Reception class) attend full time.
• The proportion of pupils eligible for the pupil premium is above average.
• The proportion of pupils with disabilities and those with additional needs is below average.
• The school provides care for pupils through a breakfast and after-school club.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress at the end of Year 6.

Information about this inspection

• This inspection took place over two days. Inspectors observed teaching and learning across the school, some in conjunction with the head of school. In addition, they made visits to classrooms, the dining hall and the playground.

• Inspectors held meetings with pupils, councillors and school leaders. An inspector took a learning walk around the school with a group of Year 6 pupils. The lead inspector also met with the local hub adviser for safeguarding.
• Inspectors took account of 34 responses to the Ofsted online questionnaire (Parent View) as well as consulting informally with parents at the beginning of the school day. They also took account of the 29 responses to the staff questionnaire.
• Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a range of documents, including the school’s improvement plans. They examined information on current pupils’ progress, minutes of the local hub meetings, safeguarding procedures, performance management documents and personnel files as well as the school’s plans for use of the primary sport premium and the pupil premium grant.
• Inspectors listened to pupils read, talked to them in classrooms and evaluated samples of their work.

Inspection team

Julie Jane, lead inspector Simon Mower

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector