St Columb Minor Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils beam with pride at being a part of this tight-knit community. Their enjoyment of school is reflected in their high attendance.

The school has raised aspirations for its pupils. They now learn new content well. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) have their needs met through skilful adaptations.

The school has recently changed its behaviour systems. Staff and pupils understand this new approach. Pupils generally behave well throughout the day.

They learn in a warm, calm and orderly environment. A few pupils still struggle to meet the school's higher expectations. Consequently, suspensions have risen during this period.
<...br/>However, staff calmly and compassionately support these pupils effectively. Children in the early years settle well. They quickly learn the rules and routines of the school day.

Sport has a high profile both in the curriculum and beyond. Pupils enjoy success in a range of tournaments. They experience a well-planned set of residentials.

This promotes pupils' resilience and independence. This is complimented through leadership roles, such as house captains.

Parents and carers are effusive in their praise for the recent changes made.

They welcome their inclusion in the life of the school. One typical comment, stated, 'I feel the school spirit has returned.'

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

New leadership has resulted in a period of rapid, sustained improvement.

Trust support has also been significant. Together, they have addressed a decline in the quality of education and pupils' behaviour. There has been significant support for staff throughout this.

They describe how change has been managed well. Staff feel their ideas are heard and valued. Teachers state that despite the changes, their workload has decreased.

This has helped to create a united vision for the direction of the school.

The school identified that the curriculum needed greater ambition. Several subjects have been redesigned.

Pupils now learn a logically ordered and ambitious curriculum. The school has identified the specific knowledge and vocabulary pupils should know. This starts in the early years.

Consequently, teachers know precisely what to teach. Extensive training has also supported them with their subject knowledge. Nevertheless, on some occasions, teachers do not give tasks which match the high ambition of the curriculum.

When this happens, it limits what pupils learn.

Pupils' progress in the 2023 key stage 2 National Curriculum assessments were weak in mathematics and writing. The improvements to the curriculum mean that these do not reflect pupils' current learning.

For example, in mathematics, pupils can make links to what they have learned previously. In writing, pupils now write with increased control and accuracy in their sentence construction using a carefully scaffolded approach.

However, some of the changes in the wider curriculum are very recent.

Pupils can typically discuss their most recent learning. However, they have not developed a strong knowledge in the long term in some subjects, such as geography. This is because they have historical gaps in their learning from when the curriculum was not as well-considered.

The school knows it needs to further embed these changes.

The curriculum has reading at its core. The school's outcomes in the phonics screening check continue to be above national averages.

Children in the early years learn the phonics code as soon as they start school. Staff regularly check what pupils can do. They swiftly identify any gaps in knowledge.

Carefully targeted help ensures pupils catch up and keep up. This includes pupils with SEND. The school has improved its systems for the early identification of pupils who need additional support.

The number of pupils with education, health and care plans has risen sharply as a result. The school ensures these pupils learn the same broad and balanced curriculum as their peers.

Historically, pupils' reading did not develop as well at key stage 2.

The school has bridged this gap through changes to the curriculum. It uses high quality books to expose pupils to a rich range of literature. The school's focus on oracy means pupils confidently articulate their thoughts in lessons.

Pupils revisit key themes regularly. Consequently, they learn to comprehend increasingly complex texts.

The school ensures pupils have a strong knowledge of healthy relationships.

They understand how friendships can change over time. Pupils understand fundamental British values, such as democracy. Their knowledge of faiths and cultures is more limited.

However, pupils display kindness and tolerance to people who are different to them. They talk maturely about how some of their peers need some extra help.

Governors and trustees make regular checks on the school's work.

As a result, they know the school well. The trust has helped the governing body to develop its level of expertise. This means it can confidently challenge the school where appropriate.

For example, governors closely monitor the trends in suspensions to ensure they are used proportionately.

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 are relatively new and are at the early stages of embedding.

Furthermore, pupils have gaps in their knowledge due to historical weaknesses in the curriculum. As a result, pupils have not developed a deep long-term knowledge and struggle to make links between areas of learning. The trust should ensure that it continues to embed these subjects and check how well pupils are learning them.

On some occasions, teachers do not provide work which matches the high ambition of the curriculum intent. When this happens, pupils do not develop their knowledge as well as the curriculum states they should. The trust needs to support teachers to implement the curriculum well and provide work which is ambitious and builds upon what they already know.

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