Berrycoombe School
Catchment Area, Reviews and Key Information

Primary
PUPILS
234
AGES
2 - 11
GENDER
Mixed
TYPE
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SCHOOL GUIDE RATING
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This pupil heat map shows where pupils currently attending the school live.
The concentration of pupils shows likelihood of admission based on distance criteria

Source: All attending pupils National School Census Data, ONS
0300 1234 101

This School Guide heat map has been plotted using official pupil data taken from the last School Census collected by the Department for Education. It is a visualisation of where pupils lived at the time of the annual School Census.

Our heat maps use groups of postcodes, not individual postcodes, and have naturally soft edges. All pupils are included in the mapping (i.e. children with siblings already at the school, high priority pupils and selective and/or religious admissions) but we may have removed statistical ‘outliers’ with more remote postcodes that do not reflect majority admissions.

For some schools, the heat map may be a useful indicator of the catchment area but our heat maps are not the same as catchment area maps. Catchment area maps, published by the school or local authority, are based on geographical admissions criteria and show actual cut-off distances and pre-defined catchment areas for a single admission year.

This information is provided as a guide only. The criteria in which schools use to allocate places in the event that they are oversubscribed can and do vary between schools and over time. These criteria can include distance from the school and sometimes specific catchment areas but can also include, amongst others, priority for siblings, children of a particular faith or specific feeder schools. Living in an area where children have previously attended a school does not guarantee admission to the school in future years. Always check with the school’s own admission authority for the current admission arrangements.

3 steps to help parents gather catchment information for a school:

  1. Look at our school catchment area guide for more information on heat maps. They give a useful indicator of the general areas that admit pupils to the school. This visualisation is based on all attending pupils present at the time of the annual School Census.
  2. Use the link to the Local Authority Contact (above) to find catchment area information based on a single admission year. This is very important if you are considering applying to a school.
  3. On each school page, use the link to visit the school website and find information on individual school admissions criteria. Geographical criteria are only applied after pupils have been admitted on higher priority criteria such as Looked After Children, SEN, siblings, etc.

How Does The School Perform?

Good
NATIONAL AVG. 2.09
Ofsted Inspection
(27/09/2022)
Full Report - All Reports
53%
NATIONAL AVG. 60%
% pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics



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Progress Compared With All Other Schools

UNLOCK Well Below Average (About 9% of schools in England) Below Average (About 9% of schools in England) Average (About 67% of schools in England) Above Average (About 6% of schools in England) Well Above Average (About 9% of schools in England) UNLOCK Well Below Average (About 10% of schools in England) Below Average (About 9% of schools in England) Average (About 67% of schools in England) Above Average (About 6% of schools in England) Well Above Average (About 8% of schools in England) UNLOCK Well Below Average (About 10% of schools in England) Below Average (About 11% of schools in England) Average (About 59% of schools in England) Above Average (About 11% of schools in England) Well Above Average (About 9% of schools in England)
Berrycoombe Vale
Bodmin
PL31 2PH
0120874969

School Description

You have led the school through a period of significant change since the previous inspection. In particular, the school has experienced significant staffing changes. However, with the support of your senior leaders and governors, you have successfully steered the school through this challenging time and managed the necessary changes well. Through well-focused and effective professional development, you are now addressing the academic challenges facing the school. Prior to this, school priorities, such as improving pupils’ reading, writing and mathematics skills, were temporarily overshadowed by the need to train new and inexperienced staff and establish effective pastoral care and support for pupils. This led to a dip in standards reflected most recently in the 2016 key stage 1 and 2 end-of-year assessments. However, staffing is now stable and teaching is typically good throughout the school. Consequently, this year, pupils are accelerating the progress they make in lessons as you and your staff provide pupils with a good all-round education. You have continued to gain a strong reputation within the locality for being able to effectively provide for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Since the previous inspection, the school’s popularity has seen an increase in the number of pupils transferring from other schools. You and your staff are well prepared for the challenges this sometimes brings. Through your well-honed induction procedures, pupils and their parents are welcomed and quickly settle into school. You and your staff work closely with other partners and agencies, such as the educational psychologist, to reduce pupils’ anxiety and provide effective pastoral support. Academically, many pupils start school with skills and aptitudes to learning that are well below national expectations. However, you are effective in turning pupils into successful learners, even if this means sometimes temporarily lowering academic expectations in order to address the negative influences that are barriers to pupils’ learning. To this end, you have structurally changed the school in order to accommodate the pastoral as well as academic learning needs of pupils. For example, this year, pupils in Year 1 have been divided into two classes. This is allowing a more favourable staff to pupil ratio and a more gradual transition from the early years curriculum to the key stage 1 curriculum. This strategy has been well received by the parents who spoke with me. One parent summed up the views of the majority when she said, ‘The school has made such an effort with our pupils’ well-being. We know they have it covered academically.’ Safeguarding is effective. School leaders have successfully maintained a strong culture of safeguarding in the school. They ensure that all safeguarding arrangements are compliant with current regulations and are fit for purpose. Staff are regularly trained in ways to keep pupils safe. They possess a comprehensive knowledge of the pupils in their care and are particularly vigilant to spot any child who might be at risk from harm. Records show examples of how leaders take swift action to address safeguarding concerns. The school is particularly vigilant in monitoring pupils’ absence. Senior leaders work very closely with pupils and their families who sometimes find attending school a challenge. The school maintains good communications with parents in order to keep children safe and to stop issues escalating unnecessarily. Staff work closely with external agencies, when needed, to ensure that pupils are well looked after and their needs are fully met. Pupils who spoke with me said that they feel safe in school at all times. Pupils know there is an adult in the school to whom they can turn if anything is worrying them. They also said that some pupils do not always behave well in school. However, pupils were quick to acknowledge that teachers deal with inappropriate behaviour quickly and effectively when it does occur. Behaviour records are carefully maintained and monitored by senior leaders. Inspection findings One of my key lines of enquiry in helping me to decide whether the school remained good was to find out how well the school had addressed the area for improvement identified at the time of the previous inspection. To this end I looked for evidence of how assessment information is being used by you and your staff to ensure that all pupils, especially the most able, are set sufficiently challenging work. Assessment procedures are fully embedded throughout the school and used consistently well to ensure that all pupils and key groups, such as disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, make progress in lessons that is at least in line with national expectations. The most recent assessment data clearly shows that nearly all pupils are making accelerated progress in acquiring their reading, writing and mathematics skills. You have established an efficient system to quickly identify and provide for the learning needs of pupils new to the school. You work closely with a wide range of educational partners and agencies in order to provide for the broad and often complex needs of pupils. You also work closely with children’s social services to support your most vulnerable pupils. The most recent data you shared with me on current pupils’ progress in reading, writing and mathematics indicates that most pupils are making accelerated progress towards achieving their end-of-year targets. Disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are tracked as discrete groups. This allows you to maintain a clear understanding of how well these pupils are learning. It also highlights what needs to be done to support pupils who might need to catch up or benefit from further challenge in order to achieve their best. Each half term you provide your staff and governors with an accurate summary of pupils’ learning and progress. Teachers use this information appropriately to help them plan the next steps in pupils’ learning. You acknowledge that currently the most able pupils are not tracked and monitored with the same rigour as other groups of pupils. You and your staff are committed to creating a positive learning environment where each and every pupil is able to reach their full potential. This approach was endorsed by the many parents who spoke with me at the beginning of my visit. These were some of the overwhelming positive sentiments from parents who spoke with me: ‘We love that the school encourages every child to do their best,’ and ‘Teachers celebrate each child’s success as they progress. They never give up on our children!’ Any actual or potential obstacles to learning are quickly identified and, if not fully removed, ameliorated to provide the best possible learning conditions for pupils to engage once more with learning. You are particularly pleased that pupils’ learning and ownership of their progress has, this year, shifted from the teacher to the pupil. This is the reason why the majority of pupils are now making accelerated progress in lessons. The few pupils who are not making expected progress (some pupils who have special educational needs and some who speak English as an additional language) are all receiving carefully planned intervention support. Teaching assistants are well trained. They provide good support to individual pupils and small groups, and have the freedom to adapt the work they do to best suit the learning needs of pupils. Another line of enquiry looked at how effectively pupils are being supported to develop their writing skills. You have rightly identified this as a key priority in your school improvement plan and are making sure that pupils’ progress rates and targets are at least in line with national expectations. A focus on storytelling is being used successfully to support pupils’ writing. A professional dialogue regularly takes place between your assessment leader and teachers to review the work in pupils’ books. This provides you with comprehensive information on pupils’ learning and progress. Furthermore, teachers speak regularly with pupils, on an individual basis, about their work to agree on how they could improve even further. They are confident that their assessment of pupils’ work is accurate. I found many good examples in books where pupils had acted on the advice of their teachers to demonstrate their improved writing skills. The most recent checks on pupils’ learning clearly show that increasingly more pupils are working at a greater depth in reading, writing and mathematics. A further line of enquiry found that many more pupils are making better progress in learning to read, especially in key stage 1. Effective engagement with parents has led to approximately two thirds of pupils now reading at least three times a week at home. The school library is a busy place, especially at lunchtimes. I was particularly impressed with the structural changes to the library that allows pupils to access the resource directly from the playground. The library is managed with great care and enthusiasm. As a result, you have witnessed an increase in the use of the library including pupils who were formerly identified as ‘reluctant readers’. Pupils who read to me during the inspection did so willingly, with confidence and enthusiasm. I found pupils from key stage 1 were able to use their phonics knowledge to attempt tricky words like ‘walk’ and ‘through’. A pupil from Year 2 read with fluency and was able to talk knowledgeably about his non-fiction book. Another line of enquiry looked at how well senior leaders, including governors, are provided with sufficient, accurate and evaluative information regarding the work of the school. Governors confirmed to me that they enjoy a good working relationship with you and other senior leaders. Governors told me that they are confident about the way they gain information on the work of the school. You keep governors regularly updated on the work of the school through face-to-face meetings and detailed written reports. Through learning walks, talking with pupils and reviewing their books, governors are also able to see for themselves the progress that pupils are making. Minutes of governors’ meetings confirm that they hold the school effectively to account by regularly questioning you and other senior leaders about the work you do. As a result, governors possess an accurate knowledge of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement. Recent changes in governor personnel have not weakened their effectiveness. Indeed, governors are highly motivated to improve their practice. They carry out their duties with commitment and professionalism. Governors acknowledge that they do not currently monitor the impact of the professional training and development of staff to ensure that the quality of teaching and overall provision within the school continues to improve. My final line of enquiry was about attendance. The school regularly monitors attendance data including for key groups. Patterns are analysed and rigorously followed up. Historic low attendance (due mainly to the persistent absence of a few pupils and some with complex medical needs) continues to be rigorously addressed. The school manages very challenging pupils well and this has resulted in falling rates of exclusion. Strong, pastoral support provided by the school is appreciated by parents. Current attendance information is now in line with the national average. This is a significant improvement on previous years.

Berrycoombe School Parent Reviews



unlock % Parents Recommend This School
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>64, "agree"=>21, "disagree"=>14, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>0} UNLOCK Figures based on 14 responses up to 27-09-2022
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>64, "agree"=>21, "disagree"=>14, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>0} UNLOCK Figures based on 14 responses up to 27-09-2022
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>36, "agree"=>36, "disagree"=>21, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>7} UNLOCK Figures based on 14 responses up to 27-09-2022
My Child Has Not Been Bullied Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"my_child_has_not_been_bullied"=>57, "strongly_agree"=>14, "agree"=>7, "disagree"=>7, "strongly_disagree"=>7, "dont_know"=>7} UNLOCK Figures based on 14 responses up to 27-09-2022
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>43, "agree"=>21, "disagree"=>14, "strongly_disagree"=>21, "dont_know"=>0} UNLOCK Figures based on 14 responses up to 27-09-2022
I Have Not Raised Any Concerns Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"i_have_not_raised_any_concerns"=>7, "strongly_agree"=>43, "agree"=>29, "disagree"=>7, "strongly_disagree"=>14, "dont_know"=>0} UNLOCK Figures based on 14 responses up to 27-09-2022
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>100, "agree"=>0, "disagree"=>0, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>0} UNLOCK Figures based on 10 responses up to 27-09-2022
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>29, "agree"=>36, "disagree"=>14, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>21} UNLOCK Figures based on 14 responses up to 27-09-2022
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>50, "agree"=>29, "disagree"=>0, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>21} UNLOCK Figures based on 14 responses up to 27-09-2022
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>43, "agree"=>14, "disagree"=>29, "strongly_disagree"=>7, "dont_know"=>7} UNLOCK Figures based on 14 responses up to 27-09-2022
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>43, "agree"=>50, "disagree"=>0, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>7} UNLOCK Figures based on 14 responses up to 27-09-2022
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>71, "agree"=>21, "disagree"=>7, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>0} UNLOCK Figures based on 14 responses up to 27-09-2022
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>43, "agree"=>36, "disagree"=>14, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>7} UNLOCK Figures based on 14 responses up to 27-09-2022
Yes No {"yes"=>79, "no"=>21} UNLOCK Figures based on 14 responses up to 27-09-2022

Responses taken from Ofsted Parent View

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