Kingston Community School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment by:
  • providing most-able pupils with opportunities to deepen their knowledge and skills in writing and mathematics and across other subjects within the curriculum
  • ensuring handwriting is taught routinely and systematically throughout the school.
• Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by:
  • taking effective action to increase the proportion of disadvantaged pupils who achieve greater depth at the end of Year 2
  • ensuring that attendance rates improve so that pupils’ attendance is at least in line with the national average.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The interim headteacher has provided clear vision, direction and stability during a period of change at the school.
• Leaders, managers and governors have an accurate understanding of the school. The trust and local authority support the school well, including through regular monitoring visits.
• Leaders and staff create a culture of high expectations. The quality of teaching is good, and pupils make good progress.
• Leaders have introduced robust systems for checking pupils’ progress. They work together with schools across the trust and the local authority to ensure that assessments are accurate. Leaders have regular meetings with staff to discuss the progress that pupils are making and identify any underachievement.
• Staff and leaders are ambitious to improve standards further throughout the school. Staff are well supported and benefit from high-quality training. For example, as a result of effective training, the teaching of science and art has improved over the current year. Leaders have ensured that there are good links with other schools within the trust. Pupils also participate in projects, including a science initiative with a local university.
• The curriculum offers good coverage of a wide range of subjects. Pupils enjoy and show interest in their learning. The curriculum does not provide consistent challenge for the most able pupils across all subjects.
• The school promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development very well through the shared values of grace, love and fellowship. Pupils show that they value different cultures and religions and understand the importance of tolerant attitudes. For example, one pupil typically said, ‘We are all different, we look after each other’.
• Pupils demonstrate an understanding of British values, including democracy. They understand the importance of voting for the school council. One pupil stated, reflecting the views of many, ‘Pupils who get the most votes get chosen. This is democracy.’
• The leadership of provision for pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities is effective. Leaders use additional funding well to provide support for individual pupils to enable them to learn successfully. Most pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make good progress.
• Leaders use the pupil premium funding well and regularly review its impact. As a result, provisional assessment information suggests that all disadvantaged pupils attain the expected standard at the end of key stage 1. However, some most-able disadvantaged pupils do not achieve the higher standard.
• Sports premium funding has been used to purchase sports equipment and to fund physical education sessions for pupils. Leaders have plans to use next year’s funding to develop the physical education teaching skills of staff. Leaders have recently introduced a robust strategy to improve pupils’ attendance and to support the parents of pupils who are persistently absent. Attendance rates are still below the national average, but there are early signs of improvement.

Governance of the school

• The governance of the school is effective. Governors are well supported by the trust, are highly ambitious for the pupils and are committed to the school.
• Governors have a thorough understanding of the school’s strengths and areas which need further improvement. This is because they receive detailed information from the interim headteacher and other leaders about pupils’ progress. Governors also visit the school regularly to find out for themselves about the quality of teaching and the curriculum. This enables them to ask probing questions about the impact of the school’s improvement strategies and how well pupils achieve.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Leaders, including governors, have ensured that there is a strong culture of vigilance. The school provides a safe, caring environment for all pupils. Governors understand and carry out their safeguarding responsibilities. They make regular checks on the work of the school.
• Staff receive up-to-date safeguarding training and are well informed, including about the ‘Prevent’ duty. They know how to report any concerns. Leaders act upon information in a timely manner and work with external agencies effectively to keep pupils safe. Safeguarding records are detailed, well organised and comprehensive.
• All statutory checks on staff, governors and visitors are thorough and ensure the suitability of adults working in school.
• Through the curriculum, pupils learn about how to keep themselves safe online, as well as outside school. Visitors to the school provide further guidance to pupils and staff.
• The pupils said that they feel safe in school. Nearly all parents who responded to the Ofsted survey, Parent View, and all staff who completed the staff questionnaire agreed.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Leaders have created a culture of high expectations. Teachers use their strong subject knowledge well and have developed positive and professional relationships with pupils, who are keen to learn. Teachers are consistent in their use of assessment information to set work that is well matched to pupils’ needs.
• Classrooms are well-organised and stimulating environments. Pupils are provided with rich opportunities to develop speaking and listening skills. For example, in a Year 2 class, pupils performed their own poem based upon Edward Lear’s ‘The Owl and the Pussycat’.
• The teaching of phonics is regular, systematic and highly effective. Pupils enjoy phonics sessions and use their knowledge and skills well to read unfamiliar or difficult words.
• Pupils develop a love for reading and read regularly at school and home. Teachers encourage pupils’ comprehension skills. However, the most able pupils are not introduced to challenging texts to deepen their knowledge.
• Teachers provide effective support for pupils of all abilities so that they make progress in their writing. The most able pupils write effectively in a range of genres because of strong teaching. All pupils are given opportunities to write for real-life purposes, particularly in English and science. However, they are insufficiently challenged to write at length in other subjects across the curriculum, particularly the most able pupils.
• Although there are examples of well-presented work on display and in pupils’ books, the teaching of handwriting is inconsistent overall.
• Mathematics is taught well. Teachers’ secure subject knowledge engages pupils and builds on what pupils already know and can do. However, pupils are not given sufficient opportunities to apply their mathematical knowledge widely. This is particularly the case for the most able pupils.
• Teaching assistants are deployed effectively and provide support that meets pupils’ needs. They make a positive contribution to pupils’ good progress. For example, teaching assistants help those pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities, and parents appreciate this support.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• Pupils have excellent attitudes to learning and are enthusiastic to achieve well. They are hardworking, follow instructions attentively and share their ideas confidently. Pupils are respectful towards adults and each other.
• A high priority of the school is pupils’ well-being. Careful thought has been given to the personal, social and health curriculum to develop pupils’ understanding of right and wrong. Pupils also develop an awareness of environmental issues and their rights and responsibilities.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted exceptionally well and is woven through the curriculum. Leaders recognise that wider opportunities for cultural experiences could be developed, such as visits to the theatre or drama workshops.
• Pupils have a thorough understanding of different types of bullying. They were adamant that no bullying occurs in school. Pupils said minor disagreements are dealt with promptly and effectively.
• Pupils are well informed about how to keep themselves safe. Through assemblies, stories and internet-safety days, pupils have an excellent knowledge of how to stay safe online. For example, a pupil stated that if you see something you do not like, ‘turn the screen off and tell an adult’. The school has regular visitors, including a local police officer and school-crossing patrol officer who help pupils to have a good understanding of how to stay safe outside school, including crossing the road safety.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils behave well in lessons, around the school, in the dining hall and in the playground. They listen carefully, work efficiently and are proud of their work, particularly writing, which is displayed around the school.
• Pupils said that behaviour is mostly good, and any minor issues are resolved quickly. Staff are effective at supporting individual pupils who have difficulty in managing their behaviour. Leaders work closely with outside agencies to provide specialist support.
• Attendance is below the national average and there are a small number of pupils who are persistently absent from school. Leaders have made recent adjustments to the attendance policy and procedures. Some improvements to persistent absence are evident, however it is too early to measure the full impact.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, make good progress in a range of subjects including English and mathematics. Effective teaching ensures that standards are continuing to improve. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education.
• The school’s provisional assessment information suggests that at the end of key stage 1 in 2018 all disadvantaged pupils attained the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics. However, no disadvantaged pupils attained the higher standard.
• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make good progress from their starting points and achieve well.
• Over the past two years, an above-average proportion of pupils attained the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check, because phonics teaching is effective.
• Provisional results in national assessments in 2018 suggest that the proportion of pupils who attained the expected and higher standard in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 1 was higher than the national average.
• The work in pupils’ books, especially in English, mathematics and science, shows that most pupils are working at age-related expectations. However, some most-able pupils do not routinely make the progress of which they are capable in the wider curriculum.

Early years provision Outstanding

• Leadership of the early years provision is outstanding and shows a deep and accurate understanding of how individual children within the setting learn. There is a strong sense of purpose which permeates the setting.
• Most children start the Reception year with low starting points. Teachers identify their developmental needs, adapt the provision and provide appropriate adult support. This promotes children’s good progress from their starting points. A higher than average proportion of children attain a good level of development. They are ready for Year 1.
• Consistent routines ensure that no time is wasted. Relationships between adults and children are very strong. Activities, both inside and outdoors, promote discussion, collaboration and teamwork. For example, in the role-play shop, pupils interact with each other in role as customers, buying real fruit. Off-task behaviour and disagreements are rare, because children are busy and are expertly guided by adults.
• Staff are very skilful at deepening children’s language skills using questioning and by remodelling vocabulary. This provides opportunities for children to think deeply and explore learning in a sustained way.
• The teaching of phonics is excellent. Teachers model the correspondence between letters and sounds with clarity and purpose. Children form letters and confidently write simple, punctuated sentences. Children have a clear understanding of the link between phonics and writing. For example, one child wrote independently, ‘Today I saw a butterfly in my house’, using these skills.
• Staff use assessment information to adapt learning and provide stimulating activities for individual children. Funding for children who have SEN and/or disabilities is used well to provide additional resources, including additional adult support. All children receive appropriate challenge and support, and achieve very well.
• Parents are very positive about the early years provision. Leaders involve parents in their children’s achievement through the records of children’s learning and the regular ‘stay and play’ sessions. Parents value the excellent start that their children make. Parents report that they receive valuable information about their child’s progress.
• Safeguarding in early years is effective, and statutory welfare requirements are met.

,

School details

Unique reference number 141959 Local authority Kingston upon Thames Inspection number 10048350 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Academy free school 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 79 Appropriate authority Chair Headteacher Local academy board Chapel Street Community Schools Trust Paul McArdle (chair of the local academy board) James Royal (chief executive officer) Devinder Riat (interim headteacher) Alison Cramp (headteacher) Telephone number 020 3108 0360 Website Email address www.kingstoncommunityschool.com office@kingstoncommunityschool.com Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• Kingston Community School is a member of a multi-academy trust, the Chapel Street Community Schools Trust. The school has a local academy board of governors.
• The school opened in September 2015 and is currently led by an interim headteacher. It has children in Reception and Years 1 and 2. The school admits up to 60 pupils in each year group.
• The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school.
• The school is one of the seven schools in the Chapel Street Community Schools Trust.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is higher than average. The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium is well below the national average.
• The school does not have published results for the floor standards.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors held discussions with staff, members of the local academy board, parents, and leaders. The lead inspector met with the chief executive officer and spoke on the phone with a representative from the local authority.
• Inspectors visited classrooms to observe learning. Some of these visits were made jointly with the interim headteacher. Inspectors met with groups of pupils to get their views of the school.
• Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons, in an assembly, during lunchtimes, at breaktime and around the school.
• Inspectors listened to some pupils read.
• Inspectors looked at leaders’ evaluation of the school’s performance, the development plan, records relating to behaviour, minutes of meetings of the local academy board, risk assessments, policies and progress information. They also considered a range of documentation in relation to child protection, safeguarding and attendance.
• Inspectors carried out a joint scrutiny of the quality of pupils’ work in books with senior leaders.
• The inspectors took account of 30 responses to the Ofsted online survey, Parent View, as well as 30 free text responses. The inspectors considered the eight responses to the pupil questionnaire. Inspectors also spoke to several parents during the inspection. Questionnaire responses from eight members of staff were analysed.

Inspection team

Andrew Hook, lead inspector Andrew Wright Her Majesty’s Inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector