Penponds School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Staff at Penponds are united in their vision for pupils to 'Aim high and achieve our best'. They know pupils as individuals and what makes them tick.

Staff work tirelessly to check pupils' welfare and happiness. For example, they ensure that all pupils can name a trusted adult to go to if they are very worried.

The school explictly teaches its pupils about what good behaviour looks like.

As a result, pupils behave well with positive attitudes to learning. In the dining hall, pupils demonstrate patience, manners, cooperation while they hold conversations at the lunch table. Bullying is rare.

The school's relentless focus on the curriculum has been int...ertwined with an impressive personal development programme. It knows the importance of pupils learning understanding life beyond the locality. For example, pupils visit Bristol to learn more about multicultural societies.

This helps prepare them for life in modern Britain.

Like staff and pupils, parents and carers feel positive about their relationship with the school. One comment, typical of many, said, 'Our children love their teachers and look forward to going to school.

If we ever want to chat about anything with the staff, they always make themselves available.'

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

Leaders, including the trust and governors, know the school well. Their self-evaluation of the school is accurate.

Frequent and robust checks across a wide range of areas such as the early years, safeguarding and curriculum subjects help to drive continual improvements. This includes external support to help quality assure these processes. The trust supports subject leaders within the school through its cross-school networks.

This helps them to share best practice.

The school has crafted an ambitious and well sequenced curriculum from Reception to Year 6. It is planned to a high level of detail.

This means teachers are clear on the precise knowledge pupils need to know and remember. Subject content has been carefully ordered to accommodate the mixed age classes. However, on some occasions the work that teachers give pupils does not match the high ambition of the curriculum.

They do not take into account what pupils can already do and stretch their thinking. When this happens, pupils do not deepen their knowledge fully.

The school has considered the adaptations pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) at every step of its design.

The school is rightly proud of its work with these pupils, including those with education, health and care plans. It has clear systems to help identify those who need additional support. This starts in the early years.

Pupils with SEND quickly have their needs well met.

Staff continually check how much previous learning pupils can remember. This ensures they quickly plug any gaps in knowledge.

As a result, pupils learn the curriculum well over the long term. They recall and explain their knowledge well. For example, in science, pupils talk confidently about how animals adapt to their environment.

In music, they use precise vocabulary such as minims.

Pupils learn to read well. Children in the Reception Year start to learn phonics as soon as they start school.

Well-trained staff skilfully explain new concepts and identify any misconceptions pupils may have. They swiftly help the small number of pupils who fall behind to catch up. These well-established systems are reflected in pupils' very high outcomes in the 2023 phonics screening check.

The school offers a range of clubs for pupils to pursue their interests, such as creative club, choir and rugby. It diligently checks the take up of these to make sure that all pupils have a chance to take part. Pupils develop their leadership skills through roles such as prefects and the 'buddy' system.

A series of residentials develops pupils' confidence and risk-taking. 'Aspiration days' help pupils to consider potential careers.

The school utilises external organisations to help develop pupils' social and moral understanding.

For example, it works closely with Cornwall Pride and Black Voices Cornwall to help pupils understand the diverse nature of society. Consequently, pupils talk about issues of discrimination with empathy and passion.

The school has clear and effective systems to ensure pupils' absence is kept to a minimum.

Pupils attend well. This means they do not miss important content of the well-designed curriculum.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• On some occasions, teachers do not plan activities that match the high ambition of the curriculum. When this occurs, tasks do not take into account what pupils can already do and so they do not deepen their knowledge fully. The trust needs to ensure that tasks given to pupils match the curriculum intent.

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