St Meriadoc CofE Infant Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 28 March 2023

Pupils are happy at this community-focused school. Good relationships are central to the school's work. There is a harmonious atmosphere throughout the school that enables pupils to learn and play well together. Pupils use the school's values to help them to develop positive attitudes to learning. Animal characters, such as Respectful Rhino, help them to describe what respectful behaviour looks like. Pupils enjoy receiving rewards for showing these values during the week. Clear and well-established routines help pupils to learn well. Children in the nursery show sustained interest in a range of activities. Early years children know the expectations adults have of them. They show they are ready to learn by following instructions and are eager to meet these high expectations. This prepares them well for key stage 1. Low-level disruption is rare. For pupils who have additional needs, leaders ensure that effective strategies help them to learn well. Pupils take part in a range of clubs and activities. These develop their interests in sport and the arts, or things such as board games and construction. Pupils enjoy mixing with different age groups at these clubs.

What the school should improve

• In a few subjects, leaders have not identified the precise knowledge that they want pupils to learn. As a result, leaders cannot be sure that pupils will learn the important knowledge they need for future learning. Leaders need to identify the essential knowledge that pupils need to learn and remember across all subjects.
• In some subjects, teaching strategies are not always used to help pupils know more and remember more. Consequently, in these subjects, pupils struggle to recall previous learning or make connections across subjects. Leaders must develop teachers' pedagogical expertise to enable pupils to build cumulative knowledge.

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