King of Kings

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

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Context of the inspection

 The registration authority for independent schools commissioned this inspection in order to monitor the progress the school has made in implementing its action plan. The inspector was also asked to look at standard 8 of the independent school standards (leadership and management) and check that the school meets the requirements with respect to safeguarding pupils.  The school was last inspected on 14 October 2014 when it received an emergency unannounced inspection commissioned due to concerns regarding safeguarding. The school was judged to have not met the independent school standards and required improvement to do so. The standards unmet related to the safeguarding and the promotion of welfare of pupils at the school, staff employment and identity checks and the school’s single central record of such checks.  The school submitted an action plan to show how it would remedy these issues. The plan was

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Context of the inspection

evaluated on 17 December 2014 and judged to be a satisfactory response, subject to its proposed actions being implemented.  This is the school’s first monitoring inspection since the emergency inspection in October 2014. The inspection was unannounced.

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Pupils’ welfare, health and safety

The inspection in October 2014 found that the school did not make suitable arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare of pupils at the school. The school’s single central record of staff checks did not meet statutory requirements and there was limited capacity to develop understanding of and implement the most effective current practice seen nationally. The work carried out by the designated member of staff for safeguarding was not being checked effectively or challenged because no governor had been identified as having responsibility for safeguarding. The school’s attendance registers did not follow the guidance relating to how they should be completed. In its action plan, the school indicated it would:  Adopt a new format for the single central record of check on staff’s suitability to work in school, and make additional checks on any staff who have worked abroad.  Increase the number of independent governors to provide greater scrutiny and challenge to

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Pupils’ welfare, health and safety

leaders and identify a governor to have oversight of safeguarding who would undertake appropriate training, increase the monitoring of incidents and report more regularly to the governing body.  Give additional opportunities for pupils to express their views on behaviour and bullying.  Change the way in which attendance registers were marked to comply with legislation. Monitoring report: King of Kings School, 10 March 2015 2 of 6

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Pupils’ welfare, health and safety

As a result of implementing its action plan:  Leaders have endeavoured to increase the membership of the governing body, so as to provide greater scrutiny and challenge, but with limited success. A governor has been identified to have responsibility for safeguarding. This governor has completed initial online safeguarding training, alongside a member of staff who has been appointed as the designated person for safeguarding in the school. Further training for both these individuals has been secured to enhance their knowledge and understanding of their roles.  Sharper systems for the monitoring and evaluation of behaviour and safeguarding incidents are in place. This means leaders and governors are better informed. The nominated governor now regularly checks teachers’ logs of incidents and collates them into a full school report from which priorities and recommendations are identified. Leaders have also increased the opportunities for

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Pupils’ welfare, health and safety

pupils to contribute their views about the school. A school council for pupils meets weekly to discuss issues with staff and online surveys are used to explore particular issues. Recent feedback to leaders and governors has resulted in an increased focus on the development of pupils’ respect for each other through additional work in class and assemblies. This support is recognised by pupils who say they enjoy coming to school and feel safe but would like more pupils to join them in school.  The school has improved its marking of attendance registers. These registers are now consistently marked using the Department for Education’s recommended codes to record lateness, reducing the possibility of misinterpretation of attendance in the case of an emergency.  The child protection policy published on the school’s website at the start of this inspection was found to contain information that was out of date. Information for parents on how to contact

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Pupils’ welfare, health and safety

the local authority designated officer (LADO) in the event of allegations against staff was incorrect. School leaders took immediate action to correct this issue and a new policy, containing the correct contact details, was published on the school’s website before the end of the inspection.  Leaders of the school do not have in place a policy that ensures any investigations resulting from allegations against staff are investigated independently, so as to allow governors to take appropriate actions to safeguard pupils based on impartial evidence. Consequently, this standard is still not met. Leaders are aware of this issue and are taking appropriate actions to tackle it.

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Suitability of staff, supply staff, and proprietors

The inspection in October 2014 found that the school did not check the identity of governors and staff and record these checks on the school’s single central record of such checks. The school did not check and record the qualifications of staff in the school’s single central record. The school did not undertake and record the checks to ensure staff and volunteers were not barred from teaching or working with children and had a right to work in the United Kingdom. The school did not ensure that any member of staff that was employed prior to 1 May 2007 had an up-to-date criminal record check made with the Disclosure and Barring Service.

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Suitability of staff, supply staff, and proprietors

As a result of implementing its action plan:  The school has implemented appropriate checks on governors’ identities which are recorded in the school’s new single central record and backed by copies of the identification documents.  Leaders have taken appropriate action to improve how the school records the suitability of staff to work at the school. The introduction of a new format to the school’s single central record means that it now meets statutory requirements. The single central record, now held on computer, includes the records of checks on identity and qualifications of staff and also includes records of criminal record checks and pre-employment health checks. The senior members of staff who have verified each piece of data are also recorded and the date on which each check was carried out. Furthermore, there is a record within the register that shows when the register was last checked by the chair of the governing body.

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Suitability of staff, supply staff, and proprietors

Monitoring report: King of Kings School, 10 March 2015 3 of 6

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Suitability of staff, supply staff, and proprietors

 All members of staff and volunteers now have criminal records certificates recorded in the single central record. However, it is recommended that leaders follow best practice and ensure that all staff have recently validated clearance to work with children.

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Leadership and management

 Leaders do not fulfil their responsibilities effectively so that independent schools standards are met consistently as two of the standards are still not met. Leaders are, however, taking appropriate actions to meet the standards that are not met.

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Regulations 2014 and associated requirements

In order to meet the requirements in full the school should ensure that the following standards are met. Ensure arrangements should be made to safeguard and promote the welfare of pupils at the school. 7, 7(a)

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Regulations 2014 and associated requirements

The proprietor must ensure that leaders and managers fulfil their responsibilities so that the independent school standards are met consistently. 34(1), 34(1)(b) Monitoring report: King of Kings School, 10 March 2015 4 of 6

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Inspection team

John Nixon, 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, formerly 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 ten boys and girls between three and 15 years of age. There is one child 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.  The school was last inspected by Ofsted in October 2014. Monitoring report: King of Kings School, 10 March 2015 5 of 6

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School details

Unique reference number 105596 Inspection number 463111 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 109(1) and (2) of the Education and Skills Act 2008. 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 10

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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 14 October 2014 Annual fees (day pupils) £3,500 Telephone number 0161 834 4214 Email address kingofkingsschool@hotmail.co.uk Monitoring report: King of Kings School, 10 March 2015 6 of 6

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guidance 'Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . 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 and as part of the inspection.

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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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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

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