Penryn Primary Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 31 March 2026

Pupils value Penryn Primary Academy as a caring school. They know the importance of ensuring that everyone is included. One pupil, who summed up the view of many, said, ‘We are helping other people and making them kind and happy.’ Pupils enjoy their social times and play well with each other. Children in the early years get off to a successful start. This prepares them well for the next stage of their education. However, as pupils move further up the school, they do not learn the curriculum as well. Variation in the teaching of the curriculum results in some pupils not gaining the depth of knowledge they need to be well prepared for future learning. This includes some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) who do not benefit often enough from curriculum adaptations to help them to succeed. Provision in the special educational needs unit has been impacted by staff turbulence, which has slowed the development of staff's expertise. Staff build positive relationships with pupils to help them to feel well cared for. Most pupils follow the school routines well, resulting in a calm and orderly school. They generally feel safe and know an adult they can talk to if they have any worries or concerns. Nevertheless, a small number of pupils and parents and carers do not feel their bullying concerns are resolved quickly enough. Most pupils enjoy coming to school. However, some pupils, including those who are disadvantaged or with SEND, do not attend well enough. Pupils are given regular opportunities to develop their talents and interests. They participate in a range of clubs, including crafts, basketball and dodgeball. Pupils develop a love of music, for example the choir attend countywide events, such as ‘Songfest’. Pupils are supported to be active and responsible citizens through their pupil leadership roles, including school council, sports leaders and house captains.

What the school should improve

• Leaders, including the trust, need to strengthen their monitoring of improvement priorities and ensure that their record-keeping accurately reflects the school’s decisions and actions so that they can evaluate the impact of their work more effectively.
• Leaders should support staff to develop the expertise needed to meet the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and check with rigour that training leads to these pupils receiving the support they need to learn the curriculum well.
• Leaders should support teachers in raising their expectations of what pupils can achieve and ensure that learning tasks reflect the ambition of the curriculum so that pupils build their knowledge securely from their starting points to develop a deeper understanding across subjects.
• Leaders need to ensure that pupils in key stage 2 with significant gaps in writing are given the support they need to become accurate and fluent writers across the curriculum.
• Leaders should strengthen their work with parents and carers to support effective partnerships and ensure that any remaining concerns are swiftly addressed.
• Leaders need to ensure that the number of pupils who are persistently absent reduces, including disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)