Madron Daniel CofE (VA) School

Madron Daniel CofE (VA) School is a small voluntary-aided primary in the An Baya Federation, with a new executive headteacher appointed in April 2024. Pupils value it as a calm, kind and inclusive school where they feel safe and know adults will help them. Behaviour and personal development are strong: pupils are sensible, attendance is high, reading is prioritised from the early years, and trips and leadership roles enrich their experience. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. Leaders have raised ambition and begun to sharpen the curriculum and support for pupils, but much of this work is still in its early stages. The quality of education, leadership and management, and early years provision are not yet good. In some subjects, the essential knowledge pupils need is not identified precisely enough, teaching varies in quality, and some pupils do not build their knowledge securely. The early years curriculum is better sequenced, but staff expertise is not yet consistent enough, and some children are not ready for their next stage. Support for pupils with SEND has improved but remains too early-stage to ensure precise help for all. Governors are new, focused on improvement and supported by the diocese and local authority, but they do not yet know the school deeply enough to check the impact of actions robustly. Some weaknesses from the previous inspection have not been addressed quickly enough. The school has clear foundations and committed leadership, but it needs to embed changes, strengthen staff expertise, refine curriculum and assessment, and improve SEND and governance so that all pupils learn well across the curriculum.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe and value the calm, kind and inclusive environment.
• Behaviour and attitudes are good; pupils are sensible and inclusive during social times.
• Staff build warm relationships with pupils, starting in the early years.
• Pupils have no concerns about bullying and trust adults to help with worries.
• Personal development is a strength, with trips and experiences that enhance the curriculum.
• Pupils take part in leadership roles such as play leaders and learn to be active citizens.
• Reading is prioritised from the start, with careful phonics checks and support for those who need it.
• Attendance is high because the school promotes the importance of regular attendance.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• New leaders have raised ambition and created a shared vision for improvement.
• The early years curriculum is now well sequenced.
• There is a clearer process for identifying pupils with SEND so they are supported earlier.

Areas for Improvement

• The quality of education requires improvement because essential knowledge is not identified precisely enough in some subjects.
• Some pupils do not build their knowledge securely or achieve as well as they could.
• Teaching of the curriculum varies, so some pupils learn less well than others.
• Early years provision requires improvement because staff do not yet have the expertise to implement the curriculum consistently well.
• Some children in the early years are not ready for their next stage.
• Support for pupils with SEND remains at an early stage, and some do not receive precise support to progress securely.
• Leadership and management require improvement because many improvements are in their infancy and not yet embedded.
• Some weaknesses from the previous inspection have not been addressed quickly enough.
• Governors do not yet have a sufficiently deep knowledge of the school to check the effectiveness of actions robustly.
• Leaders and governors need to implement necessary actions faster and check the impact of changes carefully.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Madron Daniel CofE (VA) School attended 95.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 12.9% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 4.4% of pupils at Madron Daniel CofE (VA) School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Madron Daniel CofE (VA) School had 16.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 66.7% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 22.5% of pupils at Madron Daniel CofE (VA) School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 7.5% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Madron Daniel CofE (VA) School received £12,632 and spent £11,575 for each of its 40 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £58,000 (£1,462 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Penzance · Cornwall local authority: places and applications

What is Madron Daniel CofE (VA) School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Madron Daniel CofE (VA) School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in June 2025.

When was Madron Daniel CofE (VA) School last inspected by Ofsted?

Madron Daniel CofE (VA) School was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does Madron Daniel CofE (VA) School have?

Madron Daniel CofE (VA) School has 40 pupils on roll.

What age range does Madron Daniel CofE (VA) School cover?

Madron Daniel CofE (VA) School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

Where is Madron Daniel CofE (VA) School?

Madron Daniel CofE (VA) School is at Bellair Road, Madron, Penzance, Cornwall, TR20 8SP.