King of Kings

King of Kings School 142 Dantzic Street, Manchester, M4 4DN

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Reason for the inspection

 The registration authority for independent schools commissioned this emergency inspection because of significant concerns about the culture of safeguarding and discipline in the school.  This inspection was carried out without notice to the school.

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Main findings

 Governors and leaders want to provide effective safeguarding, have been active in responding to safeguarding advice and put much work into revising documents. However, there are deficiencies in the single central record (SCR) of pre-employment checks and the approach taken by the school does not minimise the risk of problems arising. There is limited capacity to develop an understanding of, and to implement, the most effective current practice seen nationally. The safeguarding arrangements are therefore not fully secure.  The SCR is not fully effective in securing the safeguarding of students. It omits some of the required information for some members of staff and does not include a visiting teacher who has recently started to work at the school. In addition, it is poorly set out which means that it is very hard to be certain which details match which person and therefore to be sure that the required

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Main findings

details are included and all the required checks have been carried out.  When volunteers and new members of staff start at the school they are often known to existing members of staff. It is therefore essential that pre-employment checks are completed and recorded with full rigour, as otherwise, there is a potential for this pre-knowledge to increase risk rather than reduce it.  Governors, leaders and teachers express their desire to ensure that the safeguarding arrangements are fully effective. School leaders are aware of the latest guidance on safeguarding from the Department for Education and the relevant information has been issued to staff. A review of policies was completed over the summer and the revised policies have been shared with staff.  The governing body is small, consisting of four people. The governing body is close to the school and although this gives governors a strong joint commitment to all aspects of its work, it

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Main findings

means that independent monitoring, evaluation and, if necessary, challenge, is harder.  No governor is identified as having particular responsibility for safeguarding. Governors have not held the work of the designated person for safeguarding under close scrutiny. This means that opportunities to review and improve practice may be missed.  The designated person for safeguarding and the headteacher undertake regular online safeguarding training and annual training is provided for all staff. The school does not benefit from face-to-face training with an external provider which means that comparison of the school’s approach to effective practice elsewhere is more difficult.  The designated person keeps records of incidents affecting students and details of any serious disciplinary matters are kept on students’ files. However, this information is not systematically Emergency inspection: King of Kings School, 14 October 2014 2 of 6

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Main findings

co-ordinated to ensure that any patterns or other longer term issues are easily identified. The smallness of the school leads to staff believing they know the students very well but there is over-reliance on this informal knowledge when considering students’ welfare.  The school keeps appropriate registers for admissions and attendance. However, while the registers comply with the regulations, the school does not use the Department for Education’s recommended codes to record lateness. The codes used are ambiguous and could be misinterpreted as a corrected error in the register. Consequently, in an emergency, for example during a fire evacuation, students’ presence or absence could be easily confused.  Individual members of staff have identified leadership roles for safeguarding, fire safety and first aid. Those concerned take these roles seriously and are kept up to date through training.  Risk assessments are in place, for example, concerning the use of a nearby park for break

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Main findings

activities and physical education. These provide a helpful basis for protecting students, However, the assessments are not always as broad as they could be in considering the range of possible risk.  One of the three fire exits was found to be locked by a broken bolt. This could be opened but with some difficulty. The bolt was removed during the inspection pending its permanent replacement, so that requirements were met.  The buildings remain shabby although their maintenance continues to be better addressed than found in the previous progress monitoring inspection. For example, the school identifies any potential trip hazards with carpets and arranges for these to be rectified during their regular maintenance days.  Students behave well when engaged in their learning. The atmosphere in classrooms is quiet and studious. However, in more informal situations, students can be less considerate of each

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Main findings

other. There are some tensions between junior students. The students the inspector spoke to felt that their behaviour was not always good and said that teachers sometimes shouted at them. They said that levels of supervision were less at break times and this sometimes allows bullying to happen.

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

The school requires improvement and must take action to meet schedule 1 of The Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2010, as amended by The Education (Independent School Standards) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2012 (‘the independent school standards’) and associated requirements.

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

In order to meet the requirements in full, the school should ensure that the following standards are met.

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

The standard in this paragraph is met if the proprietor ensures that – 7

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

arrangements are made to safeguard and promote the welfare of pupils at the school; and 7(a)

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

such arrangements have regard to any guidance issued by the Secretary of State. 7(b)

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

The standard in this paragraph is met in relation to an individual (“MB”), not being the Chair of the school, who is a member of a body of persons corporate or unincorporate named as the proprietor of the school in the register or in an application to enter the school in the register, if – 21(6)

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

subject to sub-paragraphs (7) to (8), the Chair of the school makes the following checks relating to MB – 21(6)(b) Emergency inspection: King of Kings School, 14 October 2014 3 of 6

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

checks confirming MB’s identity and MB’s right to work in the United Kingdom. 21(6)(b)(ii)

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

The standard in this paragraph is met if the proprietor keeps a register which shows such of the information referred to in sub-paragraphs (3) to (7) as is applicable to the school in question. 22(1)

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

The information referred to in this sub-paragraph is, in relation to each member of staff (“S”) appointed on or after 1st May 2007, whether – 22(3)

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

The information referred to in this sub-paragraph is, in relation to each member of staff in post on 1st August 2007 who was appointed at any time before 1st May 2007, whether each check referred to in sub-paragraph (3) was made and whether an enhanced criminal record certificate was obtained, together with the date on which any check was completed or certificate obtained. 22(4) Emergency inspection: King of Kings School, 14 October 2014 4 of 6

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Inspection team

David Selby, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Information about this school

 King of Kings is an independent non-denominational Christian school situated close to Manchester city centre. It was established in 1986 and has been on its present site since 1991.  The school aims ‘to provide a Christian education by approaching every aspect of school life in accordance with the Bible, which is God’s Word.’ It works in partnership with Christian Education Europe (CEE).  The school occupies the top floor of a large Victorian building, known as the ‘Ragged School’.  It is registered to accommodate up to 45 pupils between the ages of three and 18 years. Currently it provides education for 19 boys and girls between three and 15 years of age. There are three children in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Pupils are grouped by ability rather than age. In the lower school the youngest are taught in a pre-school group and a group where the focus is on early reading (ABCs) while the others are taught in the infant learning centre. In the

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Information about this school

upper school all pupils are taught in the junior learning centre. The majority of the pupils are of West African heritage. A very small number of pupils have a statement of special educational needs and a small number of others are identified as having some degree of learning difficulty.  The school was last inspected by Ofsted in March 2014. Emergency inspection: King of Kings School, 14 October 2014 5 of 6

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School details

Unique reference number 105596 Inspection number 454385 DfE registration number 352/6037 This inspection was conducted at the request of the registration authority for independent schools. It was carried out under section 162A of the Education Act 2002, as inserted by schedule 8 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Christian faith day school School status Independent school Age range of pupils 3–18 Gender of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils in the sixth form Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 19

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form

Number of part time pupils 1 Proprietor King of Kings School Chair Dr Philip Lewis Headteacher Mrs Brenda Lewis Date of previous school inspection 11 June 2013 Annual fees (day pupils) £3,500 Telephone number 0161 834 4214 Fax number Not applicable Email address kingofkingsschool@hotmail.co.uk Emergency inspection: King of Kings School, 14 October 2014 6 of 6

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form

guidance 'Complaining about inspections', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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form

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when.

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form

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk , or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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form

inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille,

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form

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form

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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