Alverton Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school. All groups of pupils achieve well in reading, writing and mathematics.

Changes to leadership at the school, following the appointment of the executive headteacher, have secured rapid improvement. As a result, teaching is improving and standards are rising quickly across the school, as pupils are making faster progress. Pupils benefit from good teaching.

Teachers are particularly effective in devising activities that engage and capture pupils' interests. Pupils who are at risk of not doing so well, including disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, make good progress and achieve well. There are rigorous systems in place t...o check on pupils' progress.

The staff understand the abilities and needs of all pupils well. Pupils are happy and enjoy school. They have positive attitudes towards their learning.

They behave well and say that they feel very safe in school because staff provide a caring and safe place to learn. Children settle quickly in the Early Years Foundation Stage, where they make good progress. Governors are ambitious for continual improvement at the school and have a clear understanding of the school's strengths and areas for development.

They have successfully challenged leaders and teachers to improve and have supported the school very well through a period of rapid change. Pupils have many memorable experiences, including those in music and sport, which contribute strongly to their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. It is not yet an outstanding school because: Teachers are not always quick enough in making sure that pupils have work which is hard enough for them.

Pupils' understanding of how to improve their work is not being consistently checked by teachers. Occasionally, the work undertaken by additional adults in classrooms to support pupils' learning is not checked well enough by teachers. The outside environment in the Early Years Foundation Stage is underdeveloped as a learning space

Information about this school

Alverton is larger than the average-sized primary school.

The school is currently being led by an executive headteacher, who also leads another local primary school. This arrangement has been in place since September 2013, due to the long-term absence of the headteacher. The school undertook an extensive restructuring of leadership roles and responsibilities, including at senior level, at the start of this academic year.

The school is a member of the Penwith Education Trust made up of 18 local primary and secondary schools. Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are taught in Nursery and Reception classes. There are one and a half classes in each year group.

Some pupils in Years 1 and 2 are taught together, as are some in Years 3 and 4 and some in Years 5 and 6. All other pupils in Key Stages 1 and 2 are taught, for the majority of their lessons, in single-year classes. Pupils in Years 5 and 6 are taught in ability groups for literacy and numeracy.

Almost all pupils are from White British backgrounds and speak English as their first language. The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs assessed as at school action is average. The proportion of those who need more extra support, assessed as at school action plus, or who have a statement of special educational needs, is also average.

The proportion of pupils who are known to be eligible for additional government funding, known as the pupil premium, is average. In this school this funding supports pupils known to be eligible for free school meals or who are looked after by the local authority. In 2013, the school met the government's floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils' attainment and progress.

A very small number of pupils are educated either full or part time at another school. The school operates a breakfast club for pupils, which was inspected as part of this inspection. A privately managed nursery is located within the school grounds but is inspected separately.