Looe Primary Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Looe Primary Academy has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

The headteacher of this school is Janine Waring.

This school is part of Bridge Schools multi-academy trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Adrian Massey, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Maria Ashurst.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love learning at Looe Primary Academy.

One pupil's view echoed the positive views of others, 'the school is even better than ice cream'. The school has high expectations for pupils' ach...ievements. They learn a well-designed curriculum that enables them to achieve well.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive bespoke help that supports their learning well.

Pupils learn to interact with each other with kindness and empathy. In early years, children learn to share, take turns, and forge strong friendships.

Pupils learn the routines of school very well. They learn in a calm, orderly environment.

Through the curriculum, pupils develop strong knowledge of their Cornish heritage and the world beyond.

For example, pupils visit local museums as well as the Houses of Parliament in London. Pupils value the many clubs, such as cooking, animation and mathematics. The school provides opportunities for pupils to learn outdoors.

Pupils enjoy learning about the natural world and engage in crafts, such as wood whittling.

Pupils develop strong citizenship skills through the personal, social and health education (PSHE) programme. They learn about consent and healthy relationships.

Through voting for the school council, pupils learn about democracy and freedom of speech. Pupils also develop leadership skills as play leaders to support younger pupils.

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

The school has designed an effective curriculum to support and enable pupils to build progressively on their prior knowledge.

For instance, pupils have strong knowledge of multiplication and division, which enables them to solve problems successfully. Most pupils are reflective learners, who aspire to achieve well. However, staff do not use information about what pupils know and do not know about writing with sufficient precision.

Consequently, some pupils do not receive the support they require to develop their writing skills.

The school has worked hard to identify and support pupils with SEND successfully. Through collaboration with external agencies, the school has ensured that personalised support is provided for these pupils.

The school has established a robust, impactful training programme for staff in how best to support pupils with SEND. This has ensured that staff meet pupils' social, emotional and learning needs effectively. Consequently, pupils with SEND learn the curriculum and achieve well.

Reading is a priority across the school. The teaching of phonics has undergone appropriate adaptations to ensure that all pupils, including those who struggle, learn to read with fluency. Staff check what pupils and children in early years know and do not know before moving on to more complex sounds.

Pupils receive bespoke support, where staff identify barriers to pupils' early reading development. Across the school, pupils read regularly and with enthusiasm. Selected texts also extend pupils' knowledge of topics they study in history and geography.

For example, Year 6 pupils' knowledge of World War I is enhanced through the reading of fictional characters' experiences.

In early years, children are immersed in a world of stories. Children learn to recognise the feelings of characters in the stories they read.

Children acquire and develop strong language skills. Activities enable children to build upon their prior knowledge through talk. For example, children were observed confidently discussing numbers and counting.

Pupils learn to be respectful, show kindness and be friendly towards each other. The school has prioritised the social and emotional needs of pupils to help them to regulate their emotional responses to the world around them. This has contributed to a marked reduction in the proportion of pupils suspended from school for unacceptable behaviour.

Pupils enjoy learning and are motivated to do well. At break and lunchtimes, pupils play very well together. They collaborate in teams to play basketball, for example.

The relationships between staff and pupils are warm and nurturing. Pupils are safe and well cared for.

The school is vigilant about pupils' attendance.

It draws on research-informed strategies to ensure that pupils attend school regularly. Staff work with families to ensure that they are fully informed of the link between school attendance and academic, social and emotional achievement. As a result, pupils' attendance is strong.

The pastoral development of pupils is a strength of the school. Pupils learn about different religions and festivals. They also participate in a breadth of sporting activities, such as kayaking and running.

Parents and carers are positive about the quality of education at the school. Staff are overwhelmingly positive about the support for their well-being and the management of their workload. They share the ambitions of the school for the social, emotional and academic development of pupils.

Governance is effective. The trust provides rigorous support that enables the school to flourish.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The school has not ensured that staff routinely check what pupils know and do not know about writing. As a result, some pupils are not supported well enough to develop their writing independently. The trust must ensure that staff make adaptations so that all pupils are enabled to learn to write well.

Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted's website. From September 2024 graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade.

This school was, before September 2024, judged good for its overall effectiveness.

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school's work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness in January 2019.