Kingsway Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the attainment of pupils in order to secure consistently strong progress across all year groups, including in the early years, by:
  • identifying and addressing any further gaps in pupils’ learning to enable pupils, particularly the most able, to achieve as well as they can in reading, writing and mathematics
  • ensuring that all staff receive high-quality training in the teaching of phonics to eliminate inconsistencies in the quality of teaching and learning.
• Strengthen work with parents to reduce the number of pupils who miss school through unauthorised absence so that their progress is not affected by low attendance.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• Senior leaders and governors have high aspirations for pupils’ academic and personal development. The positive vision and ambition of the headteacher is acknowledged and welcomed by the governing body and by staff, parents and pupils. They understand and appreciate her relentless focus on rapidly improving the quality of the teaching, learning and achievement across the school.
• Since her permanent appointment in September 2016, the headteacher has tackled and improved all of the areas identified as needing improvement during the previous inspection of the school. She ensures that only staff who are dedicated and passionate about improving outcomes for pupils with a diverse range of individual needs are employed at this school.
• Although standards in English and mathematics at the end of key stage 2, and in early years remain below those expected, this does not reflect the strong progress made by all pupils following at least two years of underachievement. Staff are energised and teachers are transforming opportunities for pupils to succeed. Staff now work effectively as a cohesive team and they lead by example. Consequently, pupils approach their learning with enthusiasm, enjoyment and a strong desire to meet the high standards expected of them.
• Leaders have a clear grasp of the school’s performance. Their plans for improvement provide accurate detail for leaders and governors to fully analyse the school’s effectiveness. The plans include clear, measurable targets to hold staff fully to account for pupils’ performance.
• Leaders at all levels motivate and engage staff through targeted support and professional development. Staff, particularly those who are new to teaching, speak with passion about how they have been inspired by the examples set by school leaders. Highly effective performance management and appraisal systems ensure that teachers are challenged very well to expand their skills and continuously improve. This has been the driving force in rapidly improving the quality of teaching and learning across classes.
• There is a robust system of monitoring and evaluation which impacts strongly on teaching quality and assessments. Leaders of English, mathematics and the wider curriculum have strong subject knowledge and monitor and assess pupils’ achievements across their areas of responsibility to a high standard. Teachers, and their assistants, clearly understand their roles, responsibilities and accountability in improving standards across the school. Importantly, middle leaders know what needs to be achieved to secure stronger outcomes for pupils across the curriculum and this demonstrates the clear capacity to continue to improve.
• Leaders provide many rich learning opportunities and extra-curricular activities. Children visit many venues relating to themes. For example, as part of their ‘Scrumdiddlyumtious’ nutritious food theme, pupils in Year 3 visited a local chocolate factory and learned how to make healthy pizza in a well-known restaurant. Photographic evidence of pupils’ residential visits, dance workshops, and drama days demonstrate how the school’s impressive broad and balanced curriculum inspires pupils to learn.
• Leaders place a firm emphasis on enhancing pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Pupils discuss the importance of respecting each other’s differences and opinions, and learn about democracy and individual liberty. Leaders thread British values effectively throughout a range of additional learning activities, including assemblies. As a result, pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.
• The curriculum is supplemented by a number of extra-curricular activities, some of which are paid for by the school’s physical education and sports funding. This includes the school’s membership of the East Riding School Sport Partnership which enables pupils to participate in a wide range of sporting events and provides valuable specialist training for teachers. The funding is successful in raising pupils’ aspirations because their involvement in sport is building their confidence and showing them that they can achieve.
• Leaders, including governors, acted decisively after the last inspection to address shortcomings in the school’s use of additional funding. All staff now champion the right of disadvantaged pupils to achieve as well as their peers nationally. Leaders ensure that support is regularly checked, and changed promptly where it is not working as well as it should. This is beginning to reduce the gaps in the attainment of this group of pupils compared to other pupils nationally in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Provision for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities has been strengthened under new leadership and additional funding is used effectively. Learning support assistants are astutely deployed and receive regular, high-quality training so that they can meet the needs of targeted pupils. This is particularly the case for those who join the school speaking little or no English.

Governance of the school

• Governors accept that prior to the arrival of the current headteacher, they presided over a school which did not ensure that pupils achieved their potential. This was because, at that time, governors were not in possession of accurate information about the performance of pupils and despite being frustrated by this, they were unable to hold senior leaders fully to account.
• Governors fulfil their statutory duties effectively. They have considerable expertise and a wide range of skills. They are proactive in their support and give generously of their time, visiting the school regularly. Governors responded quickly to the review of additional funding, ensuring that the approaches used make the most difference to pupils.
• Governors have undertaken a thorough review of their own effectiveness and appreciate having extensive, accurate information from all school leaders about the performance of all groups of pupils. Consequently, they challenge leaders accurately to continue to move the school forward.
• Staff at all levels are clear about how they are held to account. This is because systems to check and reward staff performance are well understood and implemented fairly. The school is a safe and welcoming place for pupils and staff to work and learn in because governors commit to equalities practices which protect pupils and staff from any form of discrimination.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• There is a strong safeguarding culture in the school. Pupils know that they can approach staff with any concerns because of the positive relationships that exist between staff and pupils in the school.
• Leaders and governors have received training in the safer recruitment of staff. Staff receive regular training and updates to make sure that they are aware of current guidelines and legislation. They feel confident about recognising any sign of distress and know how to report any concerns should they arise.
• The safeguarding lead teachers work well with parents and external agencies to ensure that pupils have the right level of support to help keep them safe. Records are well maintained, organised chronologically and show clearly how and when the school has provided support, sought advice or worked with parents and external agencies on behalf of families and children.
• Parents are kept well informed about how pupils are taught to keep themselves safe, so this can be reinforced at home. The very large majority of parents who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, are confident that their children are well looked after and safe in school.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• The quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good. Teachers have high expectations of pupils. These are evident in the thoughtfully prepared lessons, the positive atmosphere in classrooms, and the highly caring relationships that exist. Pupils receive constant encouragement from staff who provide consistent and positive reinforcement. Pupils typically respond by exhibiting a love of learning and by working hard.
• The teaching of mathematics has been a focus for leaders. The result of substantial training and support in this subject has been the development of teachers’ skills in teaching reasoning and problem solving, making use of practical resources to aid pupils’ understanding. This is becoming much more consistent and is supporting the improved progress seen in this subject throughout the school.
• Teachers’ questioning skills are a key strength. They carefully probe pupils’ understanding and effectively tackle any misconceptions in their learning. In turn, pupils are confident in sharing their thoughts and ideas, and make good progress as they grapple to answer teachers’ challenging questions.
• The feedback that pupils receive about their learning is strong and follows the school’s policy. Pupils understand clearly what they have done well. They can identify their next steps of learning and what to do to achieve even better.
• Leaders have improved teachers’ access to a range of accurate assessment information about pupils. This is used well by staff, who are beginning to identify gaps in learning and provide work which is better matched to pupils’ stages of development. This is particularly effective in raising teachers’ awareness of disadvantaged pupils and other individuals who need to make more rapid progress to reach the expected standard. As a result, teachers are targeting the learning and progress of pupils, so they are beginning to catch up more quickly in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Teaching assistants have a positive impact within most classes where teachers make clear their expectations for pupils’ learning. In these situations, assistants provide support which encourages pupils, makes use of practical resources to aid understanding and is effective in developing pupils’ independence and thinking skills. This support is especially effective for those pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and for those who join the school speaking little or no English.
• The school uses innovative ways to encourage pupils to read widely and often. The new library and classroom reading areas stimulate pupils’ interest in a wide range of fiction and non-fiction texts.
• Although most of the younger pupils decode words with ease, the progress of a few pupils in reading is slower than others because the teaching of phonics is not of a consistently high standard. Not all staff have had sufficient specialist training to enable them to teach phonics to the same high standard as the most effective teachers.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school's work to promote pupils' personal development and welfare is good.
• Pupils are proud of their school and they work hard. They are positive about every aspect of the school, they enjoy learning and describe their school as a ‘happy community’. The school has successfully developed its provision around its vision to give ‘Every Child, Every Chance, Every Day’.
• As a result of the nurturing nature of the school, pupils feel valued and aspire to do well. Pupils enjoy plentiful opportunities to discuss ideas with each other in pairs or small groups. They listen well and are prepared to consider different views, cultures and faiths. They have a strong sense of the importance of tolerance and respect. The views of the school council make an important contribution to the life of the school.
• Pupils say they feel safe and confident about being at school. Those spoken to say there is no bullying and that they are very confident that if they had any concerns an adult would deal with them effectively. They have a good understanding of how to stay safe when using computers.
• Pupils have a good understanding of the importance of a healthy lifestyle and know about the contribution made by diet and exercise.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils’ behaviour around the school is calm and this results in an orderly and smooth-running school day. This is also evident in pupils’ behaviour in the breakfast club. Playtimes are happy occasions when pupils from all backgrounds play together and enjoy each other’s company.
• The school’s records relating to poor behaviour show a dramatic reduction in the number of incidents following the successful introduction of a clear code of conduct. Pupils with social or emotional issues receive positive, specialist support in the ‘sunshine club’ and ‘elevate’ room which are highly effective in helping pupils to resolve problems. Most parents agree or strongly agree that behaviour is managed well by school leaders.
• School leaders and staff responsible for attendance have worked tirelessly to reduce the level of absence. Many pupils come to school regularly and on time, benefiting from the effective teaching, engaging curriculum and wider curricular opportunities that the school provides to help them make good progress. However, despite leaders’ best efforts, too many pupils miss school more often than they should because parents take family holidays and attend appointments during valuable term time.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Children start in Reception with skills and abilities that are below those typical for their age. In 2016, pupils’ outcomes at the end of the Reception Year and Year 6 highlighted the legacy of weak teaching and assessment of pupils’ progress. Pupils joined Year 6 with considerable gaps in their learning. Leaders acted swiftly to stem this decline but, despite quickly making up for lost ground, too few pupils reached the standards expected of them in reading and mathematics.
• Despite marked improvement in the quality of teaching, provisional results from the most recent national tests in 2017 demonstrate that by the end of Year 6, standards in reading and mathematics remain below those expected. Fewer than half of these pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics combined. This includes the high proportion of pupils who were eligible for pupil premium funding. These results were very disappointing and not helped by the rate of unauthorised absence of Year 6 pupils during the test week.
• Outcomes in the Year 1 phonics check are below the national average. Leaders recently introduced a new scheme for teaching phonics. While this is leading to improvement in pupils’ progress, training for all staff is incomplete and the scheme has not been in place long enough to have the required impact in 2017.
• Although pupils’ attainment requires improvement, the most recent assessment information and work in pupils’ books shows that there has been much improvement and more pupils are working at age-related expectations. More challenge in the wider curriculum subjects means that pupils, in particular the most able, are developing their reading, writing and mathematical skills in more depth.
• Provisional results from the most recent national tests demonstrate that pupils made strong progress in key stage 1 to reach above average standards in writing and maths. Pupils’ attainment in reading also improved and is now close to the national average.
• The new assessment system has secured an accurate base from which leaders can measure the rates of pupils’ progress. The information the school holds is now reliable.
• Teaching now builds effectively on pupils’ prior knowledge to ensure that a higher proportion are making good or better progress in lessons. Teachers’ subject knowledge of teaching reading has improved, particularly in key stage 2. Texts are typically well matched to pupils’ abilities. As a result, pupils develop a love of reading and pupils’ progress in reading is improving quickly.
• Leaders ensure that the pupil premium funding enables disadvantaged pupils to receive well-focused support in their learning. Currently, work in pupils’ books shows that a higher proportion of this group of pupils is making better progress than they have done in the past in order reach the standards they are capable of.
• Skilled staff ensure that pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities receive timely and appropriate support to meet their needs. School information shows that these pupils are making secure progress from their starting points.
• The specialist resources and support for pupils who speak English as an additional language is particularly effective. These pupils achieve well and they make rapid progress.
• Securing better progress for the current Year 6 pupils, particularly in reading and mathematics is a priority for leaders. Current assessments show that most of these pupils, particularly the most able, are making sound progress. As a result, staff are ensuring that pupils are being prepared for the next stage of their education more effectively than they have been in the past.

Early years provision Good

• As a result of new, highly effective leadership and good teaching, outcomes for children have improved rapidly, having been well below the national average for two years. The proportion of children reaching a good level of development, although still below the national average, is improving at a faster rate than nationally. Children, including those that are disadvantaged and those who speak English as an additional language, are making rapid progress in their learning.
• Adults have high expectations for children’s learning and ensure that there is an element of challenge in their work. However, the most able children do not always complete tasks which are hard enough for them and this slows their rate of progress. The well-designed learning environment ensures that children in Nursery and Reception are able to play alongside one another. Expectations for behaviour and routines are well established. Children settle quickly, behave very well and get on extremely well with each other.
• Activities successfully inspire children to explore and to develop independence and choice in their learning. Areas such as the mud kitchen are used effectively by staff to model language and encourage children to talk about what they are making. For example, an adult used questioning well to enable a child to explain clearly their choice of pan and how they were going to make healthy spaghetti for dinner.
• The early years additional funding for disadvantaged children is spent well. Leaders ensure that these children receive the right support and are making good progress.
• Leaders make sure that parents feel able to contribute to their children’s progress in the early years. The vast majority of parents fully support the school’s work to ensure that their children are ready for their move to Year 1.
• Welfare requirements are met. The provision is well staffed. It is a safe environment and all statutory school policies apply, ensuring that children are safe and feel safe.

Inspection report: Kingsway Primary School, 26–27 September 2017

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School details

Unique reference number 117936 Local authority East Riding of Yorkshire Inspection number 10036576 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Maintained Age range of pupils 3 to 11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 485 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Rachel White Headteacher Kristina Frary Telephone number 01405 763 716 Website www.kingsway.eriding.net Email address kingsway.primary@eastriding.gov.uk Date of previous inspection 24–25 September 2015

Information about this school

• Kingsway Primary School is a larger than average-sized primary school.
• There have been significant changes to the structure of the school’s leadership team since the last inspection. The headteacher was appointed as acting executive headteacher in February 2016, working in school three days per week. She became the full-time headteacher in September 2016.
• The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is higher than the national average.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is higher than the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is below that seen nationally. An average proportion of these pupils have an education, health and care plan.
• The school provides full-time places for children in the Reception classes and part-time places for children in the Nursery.
• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The school provides out-of-school care in the form of a breakfast club.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors gathered a range of evidence to judge the quality of teaching, learning and assessment. This included observing learning in all classes throughout the school day, some of which were observed jointly with senior leaders.
• Discussions took place with senior leaders, governors, middle leaders, pupils, parents and a representative from the local authority.
• Inspectors examined a wide range of documentation, including information regarding safeguarding. They scrutinised leaders’ records for the recruitment of staff. The arrangements for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities were also considered.
• The school’s self-evaluation, plans for improvement and analysis of pupils’ attainment and progress were evaluated.
• Pupils’ work in different subjects was scrutinised with senior and middle leaders.
• Pupils’ behaviour in lessons, as well as before school in the breakfast club and during break and lunchtimes, was observed by inspectors.
• Inspectors listened to pupils from Year 2 read.
• The views of pupils were considered through the 192 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire.
• Inspectors spoke informally with some parents to gather their views. Parents’ views were considered from the 30 online responses to Ofsted’s Parent View questionnaire, together with 17 comments provided on the free-text service.
• The inspectors spoke to staff informally and took account of their views through the 38 responses to the staff questionnaire.

Inspection team

Cathy Morgan, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Tracy Fulthorpe Ofsted Inspector Linda Clay Ofsted Inspector