Lydford Primary School

Overview

Lydford Primary School is described as an “inspirational and happy school” where pupils feel safe and valued. The inspection highlights a “calm and purposeful environment” with “exemplary” behaviour, supported by a well-designed curriculum that has improved since the previous inspection.

Strengths

• Pupils demonstrate “exemplary” behaviour, treating each other with “high levels of respect” and caring for younger peers.
• The curriculum is “ambitious for all pupils,” with clear knowledge progression from Reception to Year 6.
• Pupils learn to read well, building “accuracy and confidence” through regular checks and targeted support.
• Mathematics teaching is effective, with teachers using subject knowledge to explain concepts and deepen understanding.
• Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) learn the full curriculum well, supported by “precise and well thought out” plans.

Areas to improve

• In some wider curriculum subjects, assessment is “not used well enough to check that pupils have remembered the knowledge they have been taught,” leading to gaps in learning.
• The trust must ensure teachers use assessment effectively across all subjects to help pupils “embed and use knowledge fluently.”

Safeguarding

The report states that “the arrangements for safeguarding are effective.”