Porthleven School meeting expected standard in Ofsted report

Inspectors visited the school on Torleven Road on January 20, where they found it to be reaching 'strong standard' in attendance and behaviour, and 'expected standard' in curriculum and teaching, early years, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing.

There are 192 children currently attending the school, with a capacity of 300. The report highlights strong attendance and behaviour standards.

Inspectors found that "Porthleven is a happy place in which to work and learn. Pupils’ attendance is high, demonstrating their enjoyment of school and learning."

The pupils’ adherence to 'The Porthleven Way' has been noted as promoting a powerful sense of community.

On curriculum and teaching, inspectors found: "Teachers develop pupils’ understanding by organising knowledge well. They present information verbally and by using images or diagrams."

The school’s curriculum overall has been described as "rich across all subjects," although inspectors did not there was "more to do to ensure older pupils can compose pieces of writing at length, with speed and accuracy across all subjects."

Strong relationships between leaders, parents and their children were found to support children’s learning and wellbeing needs in the early years classes.

Inspectors found: "Children thrive in the early years because of the quality of the learning opportunities and high-quality interactions with adults."

Porthleven School is shown to be an inclusive school meeting expected standards. The school’s leaders were said have a substantial understanding of their pupils and their families, which makes the oversight for disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities comprehensive and effective.

Inspectors noted that "effective use of additional funding enables pupils to achieve, belong and thrive."

Leadership and governance are carried out at expected standards, with school leaders noted for their ambition and dedication to driving improvements across the school.

The school has seen an improvement in certain key areas, particularly pupil behaviour and the climate for learning, and beginning a journey of improvement.

Inspectors did categorise one area as 'needs attention', when it came to achievement.

The report notes: "Over time, standards achieved by pupils in some subjects have been well below those of other pupils nationally. However, while these are starting to improve, particularly for some groups of pupils across school, too many pupils do not achieve well enough from their starting points.

"Historically, the knowledge and skills that enable pupils to write fluently and use numbers to calculate accurately have not been in place. Leaders have successfully addressed the improvements required in reading to ensure pupils are ready for their next stage in education."

Inspectors found that the school sets high expectations for pupils' behaviour, and that "standards are rising for all pupils, particularly in reading."