North Kidlington Primary School

North Kidlington Primary School Benmead Road, Kidlington, OX5 2DA

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Early years provision Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The acting headteacher is leading the school effectively, and continuing the strong leadership of the substantive headteacher. This ensures that the improved performance of the school is maintained.  The experienced governing body has improved its contribution to the management of the school. Governors have undertaken training which has given them increased confidence in understanding the performance of the school and being able to challenge school leaders.  Pupils enjoy school life, and are developing confidence, good attitudes to learning, and skills which prepare them well for their future lives in British society. They are well behaved and show respect for each other and towards adults.  Pupils throughout the school are kept safe and are well cared for by staff.  Children get off to a good start in the Reception classes. They quickly learn to read and gain considerable confidence and independence in their

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

personal development.  Teaching is consistently good, and sometimes outstanding. Teachers are well respected by pupils, which is a sound base for their learning and progress in all classes.  Pupils achieve well in all groups. By the time they reach Year 6, a significant number are reaching above-average standards in reading, writing, mathematics, grammar and sports skills.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Not enough teaching is outstanding in order to enable more pupils to make rapid progress.  Not all middle leaders play a full part in improving the school. They are not always able to interpret information on pupils’ progress.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 19 lessons. Three of these were seen with the acting headteacher.  Meetings were held with pupils, the acting headteacher, staff with leadership responsibilities and seven governors. An inspector also spoke with a representative from the local authority, by telephone.  Inspectors discussed teaching and pupils’ progress with class teachers and teaching assistants. Pupils’ books and records of their progress were examined.  Inspectors listened to pupils read and talked with them about their reading experiences.  There were 66 responses to Parent View, the online questionnaire for parents. Inspectors also examined the school’s own regular surveys of parents’ responses and spoke to a number of parents in school. Inspectors also received one letter from a parent.  The inspectors considered the 31 responses to the staff questionnaire.  A range of documentation was examined, including the school’s self-evaluation and development plans,

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Information about this inspection

and analyses of pupils’ achievement and progress. Safeguarding arrangements, policies and records of checks made by leaders on the quality of teaching were also examined.  During the inspection there were several performances of the school Christmas play and Nativity for parents and relatives.

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Inspection team

Rodney Braithwaite, Lead inspector Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 This is an above-average-sized primary school.  Nearly three quarters of pupils are White British. The remainder come from a wide range of minority ethnic heritages. About one in five pupils speak English as an additional language. A number are at the early stages of learning English when they enter the school. Over 20 different home languages are spoken.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is below average.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported by the pupil premium is average. This is additional government funding provided for pupils who are looked after by the local authority or are eligible for free school meals.  The acting headteacher and acting deputy headteacher took up their posts in September 2014. The substantive headteacher has been granted leave of absence by the governing body for the current school year.  The school has two full-time Reception classes. There are nine other mixed-aged classes.

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Information about this school

 The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The school has a range of developmental links to five other local schools.  There is a privately run pre-school Nursery on the school site. This was not part of this inspection.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Strengthen the leadership skills of middle leaders so that they play a full part in improving pupils’ learning.  Raise the proportion of outstanding teaching so that more pupils achieve exceptionally well, by providing more opportunities to develop their teaching skills.

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The leadership and management are good

 The acting headteacher has settled quickly and effectively into his new role, and is relishing the opportunity to continue to lead the school’s continuing improvement. He has already been successful in encouraging other leaders and the staff to share his aspirations for the school. As a result, staff morale is high. This was demonstrated by the positive way staff participated in this inspection while producing several children’s Christmas performances at the same time.  Since the previous inspection the school has improved in a number of ways. Attainment in writing and mathematics has risen. Behaviour has improved because it is managed better, and pupils know what is expected of them. Attendance has also risen and is being maintained. There have been a few changes of staff and new members have been quickly integrated.  The high standard of care and safety for pupils has been sustained.  Changes in senior leadership have resulted in opportunities being given to newly appointed middle

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The leadership and management are good

leaders. They are approaching their roles with enthusiasm. However, not all have a secure understanding of the information on pupils’ performance, being produced by senior leaders. However, senior leaders realise that training is necessary so that middle leaders can guide improvements in their areas of responsibility.  Leadership of the early years provision is good. Adults understand the learning needs of each child, and their subsequent targeted support is helping children make good progress.  Teachers receive close support and guidance. Their teaching is monitored carefully by the acting headteacher, and sometimes by other leaders and external advisors. Leaders have correctly concluded from their monitoring that further training and development of teachers are required in order that teaching and achievement can become outstanding.  Leaders have a very detailed and accurate view of the school’s performance. They prioritise numerous

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The leadership and management are good

improvement areas in the school’s comprehensive development plan, in addition to evaluating outcomes of actions already taken  The new curriculum is having a very stimulating effect upon pupils’ learning and achievement. The additional sports funding is being used particularly effectively. It is developing great pupil enthusiasm for participation in many different sports, and giving them more opportunities to compete with other schools. They have a better understanding of healthy living, and teachers are rapidly developing new skills in their teaching with the guidance of a specialist sports coach.  The school promotes equal opportunities well in a fully inclusive school where pupils from many backgrounds work and play together harmoniously. There is no discrimination in the school; pupils respect each other and are proud of their school and their achievements.  The local authority works well with the school, mainly if requested. The school’s performance and

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The leadership and management are good

leadership are well regarded.  The school is developing an increasing range of partnerships with other local schools. This is helping to provide both pupils and teachers with more teaching and learning opportunities.  The school has a strong partnership with parents, who are very supportive of it, as seen in the high turnout for the school Christmas plays. Hardly any parents express concerns about the school, and many have only praise.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governors are intensely proud of the school. Since the last inspection they have made good gains in their knowledge of the school’s performance and priorities for improvement. Through their frequent visits, they have a good understanding of the quality of teaching.  The governing body, through its knowledge gained by extra training, is now more confident in challenging leaders, as well as offering support.  Governors analyse information about the school’s performance accurately, know how this compares with schools nationally and keep effective control of the school budget.  They have a good knowledge of the performance of teachers in relation to their targets for pupils’ achievement, and look closely at evidence of this when deciding on extra pay awards.  The governing body monitors the spending and outcomes of the funding for disadvantaged pupils closely. They compare the progress of these pupils with that of other pupils in the school and nationally.

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The leadership and management are good

They also have a good knowledge of the allocation of the extra sports funding, and the resulting outcomes for pupils and teachers’ development.  The governors make sure that safeguarding arrangements meet national requirements. This is given high priority, as is the regular monitoring of the safety and security of pupils in and around the school. All school policies, especially regarding child protection, are regularly monitored and fully in place.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils’ attitudes to learning are positive and enthusiastic in every year group, including children in the Reception classes.  Behaviour is good in lessons, and around the complex and large school site and grounds. Typically pupils reported that ‘there’s lots of friendly people here, we are never lonely, and we know how to treat each other’.  Almost all of them enjoy school. They are very competitive and enjoy ‘being moved up in class’ for having sustained particularly good work. They also recall other exciting learning, such as when ‘I drew a picture of a guitar and showed it to the class’. Another pupil described ‘making a puzzle which had a marble in the centre’. Many pupils talk with considerable authority about their learning and research of the First World War.  Pupils have a good awareness of the importance of being well prepared for their future education and

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Behaviour

place in British society. One explained that he knew he had to ‘get good’ with his writing, because he would need it ‘to get a job’.  Pupils think that behaviour in the school is mostly good, although some report that a few pupils sometimes disrupt their class.  Pupils have a good knowledge of the school’s behaviour policy, and talk about ‘yellow cards, time-outs, and if you get a number five warning, you need to be really sad’.  Attendance has improved during the last year and is now average. Parents, with the support of the school, have helped the improvement in attendance and the punctuality of their children.  The extensive variety of learning opportunities and experiences provided by the school are making a positive contribution to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural education.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils have confidence that there are always adults they can turn to. As one commented, ‘Our teachers are really supportive.’ This enables good relationships between pupils and staff to be consistent throughout the school.  The school works closely and effectively with external support agencies who help pupils and families at risk of not doing well.  Pupils have a good understanding of bullying, and report little bullying in school. They learn much during their anti-bullying week, especially about the dangers of cyber-bullying, or ‘technology bullying’, as one of them remarked.  The school is proud of its inclusivity and many different nationalities mix happily together, with no recent reports of racism, or exclusions of pupils from school.  Parents and staff respond unanimously that children are kept safe in school, and that the school manages

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is consistently good, and sometimes outstanding, although not enough for pupils’ achievement to be outstanding.  Good teaching has been maintained as a result of effective monitoring by senior staff, in particular the acting headteacher, and the substantive headteacher. Their rigour has been effective in developing teaching skills, especially those of teachers comparatively new to teaching.  Learning develops well through effective questioning by teachers, which enables pupils to recall earlier learning and then take it further. Interesting activities across many subjects sustains pupils’ interest, concentration and enjoyment as pupils are keen to learn.  However, teachers occasionally do not move pupils’ learning along quickly enough, which allows some pupils’ attention to wander. Leaders have rightly identified a need for teachers to have more opportunities to develop their skills to higher levels. A programme of observation of outstanding practice and specific

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The quality of teaching is good

training and development is planned.  Detailed records of pupils’ progress are kept by teachers and used in planning for the needs of all pupils, including the most able. Pupils’ learning is also enhanced by teachers’ encouragement to them through discussion and marking. Pupils are also helped by increasing opportunities to respond to teachers’ advice and on the importance of taking pride in the presentation of their work.  Pupils learn to listen carefully and, as a result, understand what they are required to do. This was observed in Years 5 and 6 when they planned the writing of newspaper headlines and texts about crimes. This stimulated their imaginations and memories as they had to absorb much detailed information to use in their writing.  Teachers work effectively with teaching assistants. They are almost always effectively involved in supporting the learning of pupils or checking aspects of their learning during teachers’ presentations.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers promote regular opportunities for pupils to develop their literacy and numeracy skills in different subjects. Good examples of this were seen in pupils’ work in science, and in history when pupils wrote touching poems about the poppies of the First World War. As a result, pupils’ numeracy and literacy skills are reinforcing pupils’ basic skills.

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is good

 Pupils’ attainment and achievement since the previous inspection have maintained a steadily upward trend. Attainment has been generally above average by the end of Year 6 in reading, writing and mathematics and, latterly, in spelling, punctuation and grammar.  There has been good improvement in writing and mathematics since the previous inspection when these were issues for improvement.  Many children enter the Reception classes with underdeveloped skills and experiences for their age. They make good progress and are reaching slightly above the national average in most areas when they enter Year 1. Achievement in the early years is good.  Attainment by the end of Year 2 has been consistently above average for the last three years. This has been confirmed by external moderators. Achievement at Key Stage 1 is good.  A number of the most able pupils are working at levels above those expected for their age. This was

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is good

confirmed during the inspection by discussions with pupils and observations of the work in their books. Just occasionally, teachers do not move these pupils rapidly enough on to the more difficult work which deepens their thinking. These pupils achieve well for most of the time.  Achievement is consistently good for all groups of pupils in both key stages in a range of subjects, including French, science and physical education. A small team of Year 6 pupils recently received the top award in the Winston Churchill public speaking competition against other schools at Blenheim Palace.  Pupils have made great strides in their sporting achievements because of the increasingly successful use of the extra school sports funding.  Pupils from minority ethnic heritages and pupils who speak English as an additional language make particularly good progress. Late arrivals to the school are rapidly integrated and make good progress.

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is good

 Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make good progress throughout the school. This is because staff plan carefully for the individual needs of these pupils. They are also vigilant in ensuring that when these pupils are judged to be making good progress they are often removed from the need for individual education plans.  Disadvantaged pupils make good progress in all years, and sometimes better progress than their peers. This is an improving picture because leaders have focused much more intensely on the needs of these pupils and provided more effective interventions and support. Their attainment was nearly a term behind that of their classmates in English and mathematics at the end of Year 6 in 2014. However, there is now convincing evidence that the gap has narrowed, and continues to do so. This is happening in all year groups in the school, because of the more effective teaching structure for these pupils.

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is good

 Pupils read regularly to adults in school and at home, and keep detailed notes of their reading in their well-kept reading journals. Most of them say how much they enjoy reading, with one pupil in discussion showing an excellent knowledge of the life and works of Charles Dickens. . Older pupils talk about their frequent visits to public libraries. Their skills in phonics and ability to use them are helping to further improve their reading. .

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is good

 Leadership and management are good. They enable children to make good progress in their first year in school. This is because adults provide children with a wide range of stimulating learning opportunities in and outside the classrooms. Even on very cold days, children are enthusiastic about their learning outside.  Children start in Reception with levels of skill and experience below those typical for their age, particularly in writing and understanding of the world. A small number have very limited knowledge of speaking English when they start. However, with the support of adults and other children, they soon develop their language skills. All children make good progress in their learning.  At early stages, teachers identify children’s weaker skills such as reading and knowledge of people and communities. Children show good progress in these and other areas because of effective teaching. This

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is good

was seen in children’s learning of phonics (the sounds letters make). Many quickly learned the ‘th’ sound, and others confidently wrote phrases such as ‘the big dog’ and ‘the wet cat’.  Teachers also keep comprehensive records of pupils’ learning and progress in their ‘Learning Journey’ books. They contain many photographs of children’s activities and examples of their own work, and are shared regularly with parents.  Children’s behaviour is good because they are always eager to learn. They quickly learn to share and work with others. Some gain rapidly in self-confidence and independence.  Teachers, effective teaching assistants and volunteers work very well as a team in order to support children’s learning and social development. As a result, children are more than ready for when they enter Year 1.  Children are kept safe and secure, and have no fears in visiting the nature area and other parts of the

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is good

playground during their lunchtimes.  The classroom is a hive of activity at the start of the day when many parents come in, often to share information with the staff. Parents are very appreciative of the staff support for their children, as shown by the many letters of thanks at the end of the school year.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school is failing

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Grade Judgement Description

to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 123025 Local authority Oxfordshire Inspection number 449312

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School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 4−11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 280 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Tony Leake Acting Headteacher Gary Kemp Date of previous school inspection 2 March 2011 Telephone number 01865 372607 Fax number 01865 842279 Email address office.2357@north-kidlington.oxon.sch.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', 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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School details

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 and as part of the inspection.

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School details

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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School details

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 and 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, please

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School details

telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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School details

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

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