St Kew Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school Leaders have improved teaching and it is now good. They have raised expectations and planned good professional development for teachers. Teachers plan teaching well for the different ages and abilities of the pupils in their class.

As a result, pupils make good progress. Children in the Reception class are independent, confident learners and well prepared for their next stage of education. Pupils in Year 1 know the sounds that letters represent and use their knowledge well when reading and writing.

Disadvantaged pupils make good progress. Leaders use additional funding to promote their achievement and confidence. Pupils who have special e...ducational needs and/ or disabilities also make good progress.

The curriculum deepens pupils' knowledge of the world and regularly includes opportunities for them to apply their skills in real situations. Science skills are taught well. Pupils record their experiments and observations accurately.

The school is a safe and friendly place for pupils to learn; pupils and parents value the family atmosphere. Governors have made a strong contribution to school improvement. They work closely with all school leaders and regularly check the impact of the school's actions.

Leaders are rigorous in the safeguarding checks that they carry out when recruiting staff. It is not yet an outstanding school because : Children in the early years do not develop their understanding of number sufficiently. They do not have enough opportunities to practise their number skills in their exploration and play.

Pupils do not develop efficient methods of calculation because the teaching of arithmetic is not systematically planned and teachers do not insist that calculations are set out clearly.

Information about this school

St Kew Community Primary School is much smaller than most primary schools. It has three mixed-age classes and children in the Reception class learn in a mixed-age class with pupils from Year 1.

Sometimes there are very low numbers of pupils in a year group. The majority of pupils are of White British heritage. The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is broadly average.

The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium (additional government funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and children looked after by the local authority) is below average. The school is in a federation with Upton Cross Primary School, with which it shares an executive headteacher. It has informal links with Caradon Cooperative Educational Trust, through which it has access to training for staff.

The school has a breakfast club that is managed by the governing body. The school meets the government's current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for attainment and progress. The school meets the requirements on the publication of information on its website.

Ofsted_Logo_Black_RGB