Parc Eglos School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

The school is ambitious for all pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to receive a high-quality education.

In some areas, including in the early years, this ambition has been realised. However, in many areas of the curriculum pupils do not learn well.

The new trust and executive headteacher have raised expectations for all.

They have taken steps to bring about improvements to the school. They are beginning to have an impact on pupils' education.

Pupils are safe and happy in school.

Relationships between adults and pupils are positive. Pupils, right from the early years, are cared for well. They k...now they can tell their trusted adults if they have a worry.

Pupils behave well in and around the school. The school is calm and orderly. Pupils are polite and well-mannered.

They show respect to all. They smile and greet visitors warmly.

There is a real focus on broadening pupils' horizons through planned events, assemblies and trips.

The school has a focus on pupils' learning the Cornish heritage through local celebrations such as Flora Day. Pupils especially value residential visits and wider opportunities, such as sailing and windsurfing.

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

While pupils at the end of key stage 2 achieve well in national tests for reading, writing and mathematics, pupils' learning in the wider curriculum is not secure.

New leaders are determined to improve this to ensure the quality of education pupils receive is good.

The school has designed an ambitious and structured curriculum that has identified the small steps of knowledge that pupils need to learn to reach clear end points. This starts in the early years where children build essential knowledge and skills well.

There is a strong focus on developing children's vocabulary associated with each topic. Adults guide and question children to help them think about the world around them. Children leave the early years ready for Year 1.

As pupils move through the school, the curriculum is not delivered as intended across all subjects and so pupils' learning is hindered. Staff lack the necessary subject knowledge to move learning on effectively. Activities do not always match the intended learning.

This means pupils' understanding is not secure. Consequently, pupils develop gaps in their knowledge.

The trust and school have not, until recently, invested in high-quality training for staff and subject leaders.

As a result, subject leadership is at an early stage of development. While some leaders are using monitoring information to help staff improve the delivery of subject content, many do not consistently monitor the effectiveness of the curriculum and how well pupils are learning.Children develop a love of reading from an early age.

They enjoy stories and learning new words. The school skilfully uses a systematic phonics programme and so children successfully sound out new words. Pupils read books that match the sounds they know.

This allows them to become confident readers. If pupils fall behind, they receive effective extra support to keep up.

Children with SEND are supported well in some areas of the school.

For example, where needed, staff coordinate support with specialist trust services such as speech and language therapy. These pupils receive bespoke support. However, some pupils with SEND do not have precise individual targets and so any adaptations to learning are too broad.

This means that small steps of progress are difficult to measure and some pupils with SEND do not learn well.

Personal development at the school is a strength. Pupils understand equality.

They show maturity and confidence when talking about a range of issues. Pupils learn about online safety, healthy relationships and how their bodies change as they get older. Through their actions, pupils show an understanding of democracy and tolerance.

The school council meets regularly and makes a difference to the school. In partnership with staff, the school council has introduced the Parc Eglos Active Play initiative. Different play zones have been set up in the playground.

Pupils of all ages now play together harmoniously.

The trustees and local governing body are determined to continue the school's journey of improvement. They are committed to making sure that gaps in pupils' learning are tackled.

Most staff are proud to work at the school. Staff value the team spirit that exists. Most report that their well-being and workload are taken into consideration.

Most parents are happy with the support their children receive. However, a significant minority of parents comment that communication from the school is not clear or effective.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The school knows pupils and their families well. Staff have received appropriate training. There are systems in place to report any concerns they may have.

There is an established culture of safeguarding to keep pupils safe from harm. However, some actions relating to record-keeping are not as rigorous as they could be. These concerns were resolved before the end of the inspection.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Some staff lack sufficient subject knowledge to plan activities that support pupils' learning. This hinders how well pupils secure important knowledge. The school and trust should provide staff with guidance and support to further develop their subject knowledge.

• Some subject leaders do not monitor the effectiveness of the curriculum in their subjects. This means that some leaders do not fully understand the impact their subject is having on pupils' learning. The school and trust should ensure that all subject leaders monitor their curriculum area effectively.

• Some of the individual targets set out for pupils with SEND lack precision. This means that some pupils with SEND do not learn well. Although there are some adaptations to learning, the school should ensure that these are precise and based on the specific needs of pupils so that they can be implemented well in classroom practice.

• Parents raised concerns that leaders do not communicate with them well enough. As a result, parents do not understand changes and improvements in the school. The school and the trust need to ensure that they have effective communication with all parents.

• The school's record-keeping processes for safeguarding are not as precise as they could be. This has an impact on how efficiently leaders can analyse and evaluate safeguarding information. The school and the trust must ensure that record-keeping processes for safeguarding are detailed and robust.