Padstow School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and proud to be members of Padstow School.

They are polite and want to do well. Staff develop positive relationships with pupils and know them well. This creates a happy place to learn where pupils grow in confidence.

Parents praise the care and support provided by staff.The school, with support from the trust, has taken steps since the previous inspection to improve the quality of education for all pupils. Staff have high expectations for all pupils to be successful.

This starts in the early years, where children thrive.

Pupils know the school routines well. This means the school environment is calm and orderly.

Bullying is... well understood by pupils. Incidences are rare. However, some pupils think issues could be resolved more swiftly.

The school offers a range of clubs to develop pupils' skills and talents, including choir and multi-skills. Pupils enjoy these as well as local trips and visits. For example, pupils talk enthusiastically about the regular visits from the fire station crew when learning about fire safety.

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

The school is ambitious for all pupils to do well. The trust has provided effective support to improve the curriculum. The essential knowledge pupils need to learn is now sequenced across subjects.

Staff have received training to strengthen the teaching of the curriculum. Subject leaders know their subjects well. Routine monitoring ensures that they have a clear understanding of how well pupils are learning the curriculum.

However, in some subjects, improvements are in their infancy. As a result, pupils do not yet build their knowledge as well in these subjects. Consequently, some pupils have gaps in their knowledge.

The school uses a variety of strategies to help pupils learn. For example, teachers help pupils to recap what they have learned before. This supports pupils to deepen their understanding.

However, teachers are not always clear about gaps in prior knowledge across the curriculum. This is because assessment in some subjects can lack precision. As a result, pupils find it harder to build on what they know and can do over time.

The school is ambitious for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) to be successful. They prioritise staff training to ensure that pupils' needs are well known and understood. Early identification makes sure these pupils get the support they need.

Starting in the early years, all children are assessed on arrival for any communication difficulties. From this, prompt support is in place. Teachers adapt learning to ensure that pupils with SEND can access the curriculum.

This helps these pupils to learn well.The school has prioritised reading. This starts in the early years, where the curriculum is centred around high-quality texts.

Staff invest time in supporting the youngest children to enjoy a variety of stories. This continues through the school, where teachers share carefully considered books with pupils. The phonics programme is taught well because staff receive the training they need.

Staff match pupils' reading books to the sounds they know. This helps pupils to build fluency in reading.

Children in early years get off to a strong start.

The school has an ambitious curriculum that prepares them well for their next stage of learning. The development of language is a priority. Staff design learning activities that capture children's interests.

As a result, children show curiosity about the world around them. For example, the youngest children enjoyed exploring and mixing paint with their hands while adults helped them to name the new colours correctly.

Pupils display positive attitudes to their learning.

They are confident to share their ideas within a nurturing learning environment. Pupils respond well to the high expectations shared by staff. This includes during social times, where pupils play together successfully.

Pupils are taught a curriculum that goes beyond the academic. This includes how to keep themselves safe both online and in the wider world. For example, pupils have an annual visit from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution to teach them how to stay safe at the local beaches.

Pupils have a clear understanding of equality. They understand different cultures and beliefs. They know to listen to and respect the views of others, even if they are different to their own.

All staff are proud to work at the school. The school supports their well-being and workload. Staff value the training opportunities provided by the trust to help with the development of the curriculum.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Some subjects in the wider curriculum are not as well developed as others. Consequently, pupils do not build their knowledge well enough in all subjects.

The trust must ensure that the curriculum continues to be developed across all subjects so that pupils build their knowledge securely over time. ? Assessment is not used with enough precision to check what pupils know and remember. As a result, some pupils have gaps in their knowledge.

This makes it difficult for them to build their knowledge. The trust needs to ensure that there is an effective approach to assessment across the curriculum. This will help teachers to adapt learning to help pupils deepen their understanding.