A shake up of leadership is taking place at a Helston primary school as it looks to join a new partnership with schools in Truro - just months after Ofsted declared it “requiring improvement” again.

From September St Michael’s School will have a new headteacher as it joins with the Pilgrim’s Cross Multi-Academy Trust, made up of five schools in the north of Truro and the Roseland.

The Helston primary has already been part of the Saint’s Way trust with five schools in north Cornwall for the last few years and the two trusts will now merge as one.

In a letter sent home to parents it was stated the six schools in Saint’s Way would form a “hub” and continue to work together as they have been.

One major change will be that St Michael’s headteacher Shaun Perfect has been seconded to become ‘hub leader’ for the Saint’s Way group and be a member of the new multi-academy trust’s senior leadership team.

Deputy headteacher Clare Johnson will be taking over as head of St Michael’s, with her appointment being described as bringing “continuity and a continued drive for improvement at the school.” She joined the school in 2012, initially seconded from her role on the leadership team at Parc Eglos for a year, before subsequently being appointed full time.

The changes come at a period of "uncertainty" for the school, with the most recent visit by Ofsted inspectors revealing the school “requires improvement" overall, as does the effectiveness of leadership and management, the quality of teaching, learning and assessment and outcomes for pupils. Only personal development, behaviour and welfare of pupils and early years provision were described as “good" in the report following their visit last November.

Inspectors said that "deficiencies" in teaching, learning and assessment had not been addressed quickly enough to be consistently good across the school, new “middle leader” roles were not yet having any “discernible impact” on school improvement and information provided through the school’s new system for monitoring pupils’ progress was not yet readily available.

They noted that the school had gone through “a period of significant uncertainty and change” since first becoming an academy.

The quality of teaching, learning and assessment of work was described as “improving” but “not consistently good,” with teaching not always matched closely enough to the needs of the pupils.

Pupils’ learning was described as “less effective at times” in years one to four, with inspectors saying this was because there was not always consistently high expectations and pupils were not always sufficiently clear about what their next step should be or how to improve.

Although literacy and maths were described as improving, due to staff changes and training, these still “fluctuate in quality” and handwriting, spelling and punctuation was stronger in some classes than others. Teaching of reading, however, was described as “generally effective,” particularly due to changes in how years one and two were taught phonics.

There was also praise for the school's “caring community ethos,” the teaching in early years classes where good progress was being made, and for pupils’ behaviour and safety. Attendance had improved and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported.

Headteacher Shaun Perfect said: “Of course we would have preferred to have been judged as good. However, we are confident that we were already aware of those areas for improvement the inspector has noted, and had been working on them for some time prior to the inspection visit. Indeed, the school’s own self-evaluation was praised by Ofsted as being very accurate.

"In most areas for improvement the inspector notes that necessary steps have been taken but now need time before their implementation has a tangible effect.

“We realise that there are areas for improvement and are absolutely committed to achieving the necessary raising of standards. However, the report read as a whole is tremendously positive about St Michael’s School, and the wider school community, and I know from parents they are confident we are giving their children a good education in a warm, supportive and stimulating environment."

The outcome of this report means that the school is now subject to Ofsted visits every six months.

"As the inspector notes, we have been through quite a challenging period since converting to an academy. However, they are also quick to point out that the governors’ decision to join the Saints Way Multi-Academy Trust was ‘a key strategic commitment to improving the school’," added Mr Perfect.

The report echoes complaints made back in 2012, when Ofsted sprung a surprise inspection just six months after Mr Perfect took over in September 2011, ranking it "inadequate" and placing the school in the bottom five per cent of the country, putting it into special measures.

A new, “hands on” curriculum was introduced later in 2012 and there was better news in November 2013 when Ofsted raised the school's ranking two full levels, to “good,” with teaching described as being “consistently good,” with some “outstanding.”

Shortly afterwards the school converted into an academy, becoming part of the Pilgrim’s Way Multi-Academy Trust sponsored by the Diocese of Truro, later merging with the Saint’s Way MAT.