Kingsland Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Further strengthen the school’s leadership and management by:
  • providing high-quality training and support for recently appointed middle leaders to develop the knowledge and skills they need to be highly effective in these roles
  • reviewing and updating the school’s approach to assessing and tracking pupils’ learning and development in response to changes in national policy and guidance.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

• The headteacher, senior leaders and governors are uncompromising in their ambition for all pupils to achieve the best possible outcomes. As a result, pupils are exceptionally well prepared for the next stage of education. They make substantial and sustained progress in all areas of their learning and development.
• The headteacher and senior leaders have an incisive understanding of the school’s effectiveness. They know what is working well and are quick to spot the things that can be improved. Checks on the quality of teaching provide a clear picture of the strengths and areas for development in teachers’ practice and, critically, leaders act quickly and decisively when any improvement is needed. Pupils make rapid gains in their knowledge, skills and understanding as a result of the high-quality teaching they receive.
• The school’s development plan identifies precisely what leaders want to improve and the impact these improvements will have on pupils. Senior and middle leaders contribute strongly to the school’s drive for continuous improvement. Middle leaders are developing their confidence and skills rapidly as a result of the high-quality support they receive from the headteacher and senior leaders. Although they are an ambitious and increasingly effective group, some middle leaders are new to their roles and, at this stage, are not as influential as others.
• The headteacher and senior leaders use performance management to challenge their colleagues and hold them to account for the outcomes pupils achieve. Importantly, teachers are also well supported through a wide range of training and development opportunities. This includes opportunities to develop the skills and experience needed to move successfully into middle and senior leadership roles.
• The curriculum provides an exceptionally rich range of well-thought-out experiences and learning opportunities. Pupils’ spiritual, social, moral and cultural development is superbly well supported through a wide range of school-based and out-of-school activities. Additional funding, including the primary physical education (PE) and sport premium, is used well to increase pupils’ participation in PE and sport. As a result, pupils are more visible and included in the wider community and, importantly, they develop the confidence, skills and qualities needed to be successful and resilient learners.
• Pupils’ learning and progress are assessed and tracked accurately and well. The headteacher and senior leaders have a clear picture of how well pupils are doing. They also know that the school’s approach to assessing pupils’ learning and development needs to be reviewed and updated. This is because national guidance about statutory assessment for pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities has recently changed.
• The school’s special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) has strong oversight of the quality of education, health and care (EHC) plans and the progress pupils are making towards the important outcomes in these plans. Additional funding for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is used well to meet their identified and assessed needs.
• The values of ‘respecting, working and sharing with others’, ‘believing in yourself’ and ‘accepting other people’ are at the heart of the school’s work. As a result, pupils learn to be polite, respectful and proud of themselves and their school. These are notable gains, given pupils’ starting points and the significant difficulties they experience.
• The headteacher and senior leaders have a sharp focus on improving the outcomes achieved by disadvantaged pupils. Pupil premium funding is used wisely to tackle the barriers experienced by this group of pupils and, as a result, they achieve excellent outcomes.
• The overwhelming majority of parents and carers spoke enthusiastically to inspectors about the school’s effectiveness. Many described the ‘fabulous’ impact of the school’s work on their children’s learning, development and well-being. A small number of parents said that the school could have responded better to concerns they have raised in the past.

Governance of the school

• Governors make a strong contribution to the school’s leadership and management.
• Governors are knowledgeable about all aspects of the school’s performance because they receive detailed and comprehensive reports from the headteacher and senior leaders.
• Governors use the information they receive to challenge the headteacher and senior leaders about the quality of education and the outcomes achieved by pupils. Importantly, however, governors provide the strong and resolute support the headteacher and senior leaders periodically need.
• Governors have effective oversight of safeguarding arrangements and the school’s use of pupil premium to improve the outcomes achieved by disadvantaged pupils.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• There is an embedded culture of identifying and supporting children who need help and protection. Teachers and teaching assistants are knowledgeable about the things that make children who have SEN and/or disabilities vulnerable and alert to any signs of neglect or harm. Records show that timely and effective action is taken when concerns about a pupil are identified. Senior leaders work effectively with a wide range of services and professionals to provide the help and support that children and their families need.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Outstanding

• The leadership and management of teaching, learning and assessment is highly effective. The headteacher and senior leaders have secured the strong support of their colleagues who, as a result, share their commitment to continuously improving the quality of teaching, learning and assessment.
• Teachers plan learning activities which are carefully matched to pupils’ interests and SEN. They assess pupils’ learning and progress well and use this information to refine and adjust their planning and teaching. As a result, pupils make consistently strong progress and achieve excellent outcomes.
• Teachers have expert knowledge about pupils’ widely different SEN and/or disabilities. They use their deep subject and specialist knowledge exceptionally well to promote pupils’ engagement and learning. The school’s approach to developing pupils’ communication and interaction skills is especially effective. Indeed, pupils make rapid and sustained gains in the development of these crucially important skills.
• Pupils develop positive attitudes to learning as a result of the high-quality teaching they receive. Pupils are proud of their successes and achievements. They are keen, confident and increasingly resilient learners. Teaching assistants make a strong contribution to pupils’ learning and development. They know pupils well and, as a result, provide the skilful help and support they need.
• Parents and carers told inspectors that they feel well informed about their children’s learning and progress and fully involved in discussion and decision-making about their special educational provision. They have strong and influential voices in reviews of EHC plans and the development of ‘communication journeys’: plans which set out how best to develop pupils’ communication and interaction skills. As a result, parents and carers know how they can work with the school to develop and improve their children’s knowledge, skills and understanding.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• Pupils overcome significant barriers and difficulties and, as a result of the highly effective support they receive, become increasingly confident and successful learners. Pupils’ pride in themselves and their school is demonstrably evident in the way they work and learn together.
• Pupils’ social development is exceptionally well supported. Pupils understand the importance of being kind and respectful, and know the difference between right and wrong.
• The school’s curriculum includes a rich range of well-planned music and arts-based activities, which promote pupils’ spiritual and cultural understanding extremely well. Pupils participate enthusiastically in these activities and show real pride in their successes and achievements.
• Pupils indicate through their actions and behaviour that they feel safe and well looked-after. Importantly, pupils are learning how to keep safe in different situations as a result of the ‘real-life’ experiences which are embedded in the school’s curriculum.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.
• Pupils conduct themselves consistently well with minimal direction from adults. Pupils understand the school’s consistently high expectations and respond positively to the praise and rewards they receive for behaving well.
• Incidents of challenging behaviour are managed safely and well. As a result, there is a declining trend in the frequency and intensity of these incidents. Leaders work tirelessly to identify ways of improving pupils’ attitudes to learning and behaviour.
• Senior leaders work in a focused and determined way when they have concerns about the attendance of an individual pupil or a group of pupils. As a result, the attendance of pupils who have previously had high levels of absence is improving quickly. Pupils who have complex health and medical needs receive high-quality personalised support.

Outcomes for pupils Outstanding

• Pupils make significant and sustained progress towards the challenging outcomes in their EHC plans. Over time, pupils are developing their knowledge, skills and understanding systematically and well. This means that they are exceptionally well prepared for the next stage of their education by the end of Year 6.
• Pupils make consistently strong progress in their development of English and mathematics skills and, more broadly, in their knowledge and understanding of the world around them. Disadvantaged pupils make accelerated progress in these crucially important areas of learning because additional funding is used wisely to tackle the significant barriers and difficulties they experience.
• Pupils’ learning and progress are assessed comprehensively and accurately. Teachers use a wide range of assessment information to pinpoint exactly how well pupils are doing in all areas of their learning and development. This is especially the case for pupils who have the most severe, profound and complex needs. Senior leaders meticulously track the progress that all pupils are making and intervene quickly to keep them on track. As a result, pupils make substantial gains in learning from their widely different starting points.
• Pupils make exceptional progress in their social and emotional development because these important areas of learning are consistently well supported. Pupils are developing the skills and qualities they need to learn well and to be fully included in all areas of school life. Pupils leave the school as confident, successful and resilient learners.
• ‘Communication journeys’ provide detailed, high-quality information about how best to develop pupils’ communication and interaction skills. They are co-produced extremely well with families, which means that pupils’ learning is well supported at home as well as in school. Pupils develop these crucially important skills consistently well. This is especially the case for disadvantaged pupils who make accelerated progress as a result of the well-targeted and effective support they receive.

Early years provision Outstanding

• The school’s early years leader has a deep and incisive understanding of the effectiveness of all aspects of the early years provision. The school’s ambition for every child to have the ‘best possible start’ is clearly reflected in the collective drive to improve every aspect of this provision. Parents and carers are unequivocally positive about the school’s tireless approach to ‘getting it right’ for their children.
• The early years curriculum is carefully planned in response to children’s highly specialised and rapidly changing needs. The indoor and outdoor learning areas provide the rich range of experiences and learning opportunities children need. The curriculum supports all aspects of children’s learning and development well.
• Children’s starting points are assessed comprehensively and accurately. EHC plans are co-produced effectively with families. As a result, children receive the high-quality support they need from a wide range of professionals, including nurses, therapists and paediatricians. Children’s safety and welfare are consistently well supported.
• Children’s learning and development are assessed and tracked meticulously by the early years leader. Assessment information is used exceptionally well to refine and develop the curriculum and improve the quality of teaching.
• Children make remarkable progress as a result of the school’s highly effective early years provision. Parents and carers told inspectors that they can ‘see the difference it makes’ to their children. All children, irrespective of their starting points and including those who are disadvantaged, have a strong start and are exceptionally well prepared for key stage 1.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 133718 Wakefield 10049003 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Special School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Maintained 2 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 172 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Ray Spencer Paula Trow 01924 828990 www.kingsland.wakefield.sch.uk headteacher@kingsland.wakefield.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 24–25 November 2011

Information about this school

• Kingsland Primary is a larger-than-average-sized special school for pupils aged 2 to 11 who have a wide range of SEN and/or disabilities.
• Most pupils are from White British backgrounds and approximately one fifth are from minority ethnic groups.
• Almost one fifth of pupils speak English as an additional language.
• The proportion of pupils who are known to be eligible for the pupil premium is much higher than that found nationally.
• All pupils have a statement of special educational needs or an EHC plan.
• At the time of its last inspection in November 2011, Kingsland Primary was an average-sized special school on the Aberford Road site in Stanley. There were 66 pupils on roll. Since this inspection, the number of pupils on roll has increased to 172, and the school now operates on two sites: the Stanley site and the Castleford site. The Castleford site was formerly Wakefield Pathways School, which closed and amalgamated with Kingsland Primary School in September 2016.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed teaching and learning on both sites on both days of the inspection. They also spoke to pupils and examined the work in their books. Several lessons were visited jointly with the headteacher and senior leaders.
• Meetings were held with pupils, senior and middle leaders and five governors. The lead inspector had a telephone call with the school improvement partner.
• Inspectors spoke informally to parents at the start and end of the school day. There were 18 responses recorded on Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, including 16 free-text responses. Inspectors considered 53 responses to the online staff survey.
• Inspectors examined documents relating to governance, self-evaluation, school improvement planning, pupils’ progress, attendance, behaviour, the curriculum and safeguarding.

Inspection team

Nick Whittaker, lead inspector Michael Wardle Patricia Head Her Majesty’s Inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector