Camelford Community Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love learning at Camelford. They enjoy their subjects and have nurturing relationships with staff.

Pupils feel safe and very well cared for. Winston, the school dog, provides support for pupils when they are anxious. Pupils learn to be kind, polite and empathetic to the needs of others.

Through the curriculum, pupils develop impressive knowledge about citizenship. They have very well-structured opportunities to become ambassadors for a range of subjects. They also experience democracy through voting for the school council.

Pupils are very well prepared to become informed citizens of modern Britain.

Children in the Nursery and Reception classes... flourish in the school. They learn the routines of school very well.

Children develop very strong language skills through the curriculum. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) thrive through bespoke support.

Pupils' attitudes towards learning are impeccable.

They are highly motivated to learn the exciting curriculum that the school has created. There is a safe, harmonious learning environment throughout the school.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school has worked conscientiously to ensure that pupils study a knowledge-rich curriculum.

Leaders' vision that all pupils learn with confidence and success is shared by all staff. From Reception Year to Year 6, most pupils learn progressively more complex concepts. For example, pupils in key stage 1 learn about the cause and consequences of the Great Fire of London.

However, at times, staff do not adapt their teaching of the curriculum to ensure that all pupils apply their learning independently. For example, in mathematics, some pupils do not have fluent understanding of core operations in order to be able to apply them to more complex mathematical problems.

From Reception to key stage 1, pupils learn to read exceptionally well.

In Reception, children develop very strong language skills through an immersion in stories. For example, children recite with strong understanding the story of 'The Little Red Hen'. In Nursery, children recite nursery rhymes very well.

As a result, children in Reception love learning to read. Children also develop very strong mark making and writing skills. As they get older, pupils speak knowledgeably about the texts that they read.

For example, pupils in Years 5 and 6 wrote insightfully about the experiences of the Windrush generation based on their reading.

Through the curriculum, pupils learn the importance of being kind, friendly and helpful members of a school community. As a result, pupils feel very well supported.

The school has ensured that all pupils receive strong mental health support if required. Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the school. One parent's response to the online questionnaire echoed that of many: 'This school is fantastic.'

The school is fully inclusive. Pupils who attend the specially resourced provision for pupils with SEND are fully integrated into the life of the school. The school provides tailored support, so pupils attend regularly.

The personal, social and health education curriculum supports pupils to learn about the world around them in impressive depth. For example, they articulate insightful understanding about the concept of 'family' in modern Britain. Pupils talk knowledgeably about the problems of gender stereotypes.

Pupils benefit from well-planned enrichment opportunities. These are designed to enhance and extend pupils' knowledge about the subjects they study. For example, pupils learn about culturally important areas in North Cornwall, as well as in major cities, such as Bristol and London.

Pupils participate in the breadth of clubs and activities on offer. For example, children in Reception Year learned how to stage a production of The Nativity with great confidence and skill. Pupils value such opportunities highly.

In the early years setting, children flourish due to a very well-structured curriculum. Children learn to follow instructions, make apple crumble and describe the process they have followed. Through well-designed teaching, children imaginatively reinterpret the world around them.

Consequently, children are very well prepared for their next steps.

Governors and the trust are knowledgeable about the school. They provide robust challenge and support in equal measure.

Governors and trustees collate a breadth of information which they use to ask the right questions of leaders. Staff are overwhelmingly proud to work at the school and feel that leaders are supportive of their workload.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Leaders do not consistently ensure that staff adapt the ways in which they teach some parts of the curriculum. Where this is so, some pupils do not learn with the same success and confidence as they do in others. Leaders must ensure that staff make suitable adaptations so that all pupils learn successfully.