King's Meadow Primary School

School report King's Meadow Primary School

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Shakespeare Drive, Bicester, Oxfordshire, OX26 2LU

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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

 Leaders have set a clear direction for the school. Everyone works together to secure good outcomes for pupils.  Teachers typically have high expectations of pupils. They use their knowledge of pupils to make sure that most pupils make good progress. All groups of pupils are achieving well and gaps are narrowing.  Pupils behave well and are polite. They play well together and help each other in class and in the playground.  The rich curriculum provides pupils with opportunities to enjoy a variety of experiences that support their personal and social development.  There are strong systems to keep pupils safe. Pupils are routinely taught how to keep themselves safe.  Imaginative teaching ensures that most children make good progress in the early years. Children are enthusiastic learners and enjoy a wide range of activities that develop their key skills.  Leaders and governors have an accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and what

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

needs to improve. They check that all aspects of the school’s work support leaders’ ambitions for continuous improvement.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Sometimes teachers do not plan tasks that are sufficiently well matched to the needs of different pupils. This occasionally slows some pupils’ learning because they are not challenged enough.  Plans for improvement do not include precise targets for pupils’ outcomes. This sometimes makes it hard to measure the impact of leaders’ actions.  Middle leaders do not use information from checks on pupils’ learning well enough to evaluate the impact of their actions.  Teachers do not always plan opportunities for pupils to write in other subjects. This means that standards in writing are not as high as those in reading and mathematics.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 24 lessons, seven of which were conducted jointly with senior leaders.  The inspection team evaluated pupils’ work and heard some pupils read. They met with a group of 12 pupils to talk about their work and the school.  Meetings were held with the headteacher, other staff with significant responsibilities, and three representatives of the governing body, including the Chair of Governors. A meeting was held with a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors spoke to parents and took into account 98 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View).  Inspectors also considered 35 questionnaires returned by staff.  A range of documents were looked at, including the school’s own information relating to pupils’ achievement, records showing leaders’ checks on the quality of teaching, records relating to pupils’ behaviour and attendance, and documents relating to how the school keeps pupils safe.

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Inspection team

Caroline Dulon, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Information about this school

 King’s Meadow is a larger-than-average-sized primary school.  Children attend the Reception class on a full-time basis and the nursery class on a part-time basis.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils (those who qualify for the pupil premium which is additional funding for pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals and children who are looked after) is below average.  Most pupils are White British and speak English as their first language.  The proportion of pupils who are disabled or have special educational needs is just above average.  The school meets the government’s floor standards, which set the minimum expectation for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics.  The interim headteacher has been in post since September 2014, following the retirement of the previous headteacher. A new permanent headteacher has been appointed for September 2015.

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Information about this school

 The school has achieved the Gold School Games Mark and the Silver Youth Sport Trust Quality Mark.  King’s Meadow works with other schools as part of Bicester Learning in Partnership.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Accelerate rates of pupils’ progress further by ensuring that all teachers consistently:  set work that challenges all pupils effectively  plan opportunities for pupils to write more regularly in other subjects.  Enhance leadership and management by making sure that:  all plans for improvement have measureable targets that link to pupils’ outcomes  middle leaders evaluate the impact of their actions using information from checks on pupils’ learning.

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The leadership and management are good

 The interim headteacher and the deputy headteacher have set a clear direction for the school. There is a culture of high expectations and everyone works together to secure the best outcomes for pupils. As a result, the quality of teaching is consistently good and standards have risen.  Senior leaders have an accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. They have rightly used information from checks on pupils’ learning to determine where their focus should be. They have wasted no time in implementing changes to the way that teachers work. Teachers know what is required of them. This has enabled leaders to secure consistently good teaching and learning.  Plans for improvement are well directed to address appropriate priorities. All leaders have developed plans that match these aims. Everybody knows what needs to be done and by when. However, plans do not include precise targets about pupils’ achievement. Although leaders check that actions have been taken, it

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The leadership and management are good

is not always clear what impact these are having on improving standards.  Systems to monitor teaching and learning support leaders’ ambitions for continuous improvement. Teachers’ pay is linked to the achievement of pupils in their class. Leaders check the quality of teaching by making sure that pupils are doing as well as they should be. Leaders have ensured that teachers also regularly measure the progress that individual pupils are making and use this information to plan for better learning. Because of this, pupils have made better progress.  Middle leaders are effectively supporting the school’s priorities for improvement. They carry out regular checks on the quality of teaching and learning and provide helpful feedback to teachers. Middle leaders understand the patterns of past achievement but do not yet fully evaluate the impact of their own work on pupils’ achievement.  Pupil premium funding is used effectively. Leaders carefully measure the impact of additional support and

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The leadership and management are good

use this information to improve the help given to disadvantaged pupils. Consequently, disadvantaged pupils are making accelerated progress and the gap between them and their classmates is closing.  Equality of opportunity is promoted well across the school and discrimination is effectively tackled. Right from the start, stereotypes are challenged – girls in the early years were seen enthusiastically playing as mechanics. Leaders carefully monitor the progress of different groups and use this information well to ensure that gaps between them are reduced.  The school offers a rich curriculum that is energised by themed weeks, such as science week, and other projects that increase collaboration and responsibility. Pupils elect ‘eco-warriors’ and each class has their own garden area to maintain. Activities to celebrate learning help pupils to build confidence and deepen their knowledge. For example, pupils regularly share learning from physical education lessons linked to the

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The leadership and management are good

Olympic values with parents.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, cultural and social development is good. Pupils learn about different places and religions and are able to develop their own spirituality. Events such as police week help pupils to understand the law and their role in society. Consequently, pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.  Safeguarding meets statutory requirements. There are clear systems in place that all staff know and they understand what they have to do if they are worried about a pupil. This ensures that concerns are dealt with appropriately and promptly.  Physical education and sport are a recognised strength of the school. The additional sports funding has been used well to further increase pupils’ participation in physical activities, particularly amongst those who are more reluctant to take part. As an active member of the local sports partnership, the school has

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The leadership and management are good

benefited from a visiting specialist teacher who works closely with teachers to improve the quality of physical education teaching.  Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the work of the school. They have confidence in leaders and feel that their children benefit greatly from their schooling.  The local authority increased the level of support to the school this year and has contributed well to leaders’ development. Advisers have helped to strengthen provision for pupils with special educational needs and enrich the mathematics curriculum.  The governance of the school:  Governors have an accurate understanding of the effectiveness of the school. This is because they ask for and receive detailed information about pupils’ achievement and the quality of teaching from the interim headteacher. In meetings, governors ask leaders challenging questions about achievement and teaching that help to drive improvements. Governors make regular visits to the school to enhance their

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The leadership and management are good

knowledge and see for themselves whether actions have been followed through. They are ambitious for the school and challenge leaders well.  Governors have agreed the procedures for reviewing teachers’ pay. They know how teaching is monitored and what will happen if there are any concerns, as well as what is done to reward good teaching. Through regular meetings, governors check that funding is used appropriately and that requirements for safeguarding are met.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Around the school, pupils are well behaved and polite. Pupils of all ages play together well and help each other. One pupil stated, ‘Everyone is a friend.’  In lessons, pupils show responsible attitudes to their learning. They collaborate well in pairs and groups and respond quickly to teachers’ instructions. Occasionally, when tasks are less demanding, some pupils lose concentration.  Leaders monitor records of behaviour closely to identify pupils who need support to conform to the rules. This has helped some pupils to make improvements to their behaviour. Pupils feel that behaviour in the school is good because everyone knows the rules.  Attendance improved in 2014 and was above the national average. This year, there has been a slight increase in the number of pupils who are regularly absent from school. Effective action has been taken to challenge and support the families involved and improvements in attendance for this very small group of

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. There are strong systems in place to keep pupils safe and teach them about safety. Events are planned with safety in mind and essential checks are routinely carried out.  Pupils report that bullying is very rare. They have a good understanding of what bullying is and know how to treat people if they are ‘different’. Pupils know what to do if they have any concerns and are confident that any of the adults in school will help them. Because of this, they feel safe in school.  The school has rightly prioritised e-safety. Pupils know about how to keep themselves safe when using the internet. They are knowledgeable about the rules and are regularly reminded of them. Workshops are held for parents to show them how children can use the internet safely. Events such as this have helped parents to feel confident that the school keeps their children safe.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is enabling most pupils to make good progress over time.  Teachers generally have high expectations of all pupils. They build strong relationships with pupils and use their knowledge of pupils to endeavour to challenge and support them to make the next steps in their learning. Praise is used well to encourage pupils to persevere. As a result, different groups of pupils, including the most able, typically achieve well.  Phonics (letters and the sounds they make) is taught very effectively. Right from the start, lessons include a wide range of interactive activities that pupils clearly enjoy. All pupils have frequent opportunities to practise their early reading and spelling skills. This has led to an increased proportion of pupils achieving levels expected for their age. Teachers make sure that pupils continue to develop their reading skills with regular lessons that also help them to understand what they read.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers promote thinking in mathematics through regular problem-solving activities. Pupils demonstrate that they can apply their knowledge well. For example, in a Year 2 mathematics lesson, pupils were confidently solving word problems involving money, calculating the different ways that they could spend a given amount.  Pupils are given opportunities to apply their skills across a range of subjects. For example, in science, pupils make graphs to show the results of an investigation. This helps them to understand the purpose of their learning and gives them valuable opportunities to apply and develop their mathematics skills. However, opportunities to write across the curriculum are not as well exploited, as most writing takes place in English lessons.  Teachers question pupils well and make regular checks on learning during lessons. They use this information wisely to help them reshape tasks to improve learning. On occasion, teachers do not always

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The quality of teaching is good

use their knowledge of the pupils to plan tasks that are well matched to their needs and this slows learning.  Pupils’ work is marked regularly. In the best examples of marking, teachers make helpful comments that show pupils what they have achieved and how their work could be even better. Pupils respond to these comments and make improvements.  Teaching assistants provide valuable support to pupils. They check that pupils understand what they have been asked to do while encouraging pupils to persevere and find solutions independently. Pupils are given confidence, responding well to skilful questioning.  Homework is set regularly and effectively supports learning in class. The very large majority of parents feel that homework is appropriate for their child.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Current information from checks on pupils’ learning and work in books shows that most pupils are making at least expected progress in all subjects across the school.  The majority of children leaving the early years are well prepared for Year 1. The proportion of children reaching a good level of development by the end of Reception has increased over the past two years. Already, more children are ready for Year 1 than was the case in the previous year.  Pupils’ attainment in all subjects rose at the end of Key Stage 1 in 2014. Pupils reached standards in reading, writing and mathematics that were just above the national average. Current Year 2 pupils have made accelerated progress and are on track to be just above the national average, even though they joined the school with skills below those typical for their age.  Achievement at the end of Key Stage 2 dipped in 2014. Current information indicates that Year 6 pupils

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The achievement of pupils is good

are on track to make at least expected progress in reading, writing and mathematics. The proportion making more than expected progress is above the national average.  The gap between disadvantaged pupils and others is closing across the school. Current data show that disadvantaged pupils are making good or better progress and are reaching standards expected for their age. This was not the case in 2014, when disadvantaged pupils were six terms behind their classmates and other pupils nationally in reading and mathematics. In writing, they were four terms behind other pupils at the school and other pupils nationally.  Achievement in reading and phonics was not as high in 2014 as it has been in the past. Leaders have responded promptly, making well-judged changes. As a result, standards are now rising rapidly. Pupils are making good progress in reading and an increasing number of pupils are reaching expected standards

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The achievement of pupils is good

across the school. Attainment in writing is lower than in reading and mathematics because pupils have fewer opportunities to apply and develop their writing skills in other subjects.  In 2014, the proportion of pupils reaching higher levels in Year 2 and Year 6 was at least average. The most able pupils make good progress in all year groups because teachers usually make sure that lessons are challenging for them.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are making good progress. This is because teachers check their learning carefully and provide support that matches their needs.

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The early years provision is good

 Imaginative teaching ensures that most children, including those with special educational needs, make good progress from their starting points and a large majority are well prepared for Year 1. A large giraffe in the classroom inspires a variety of activities. ‘Jack the Giraffe’, who comes alive at night, generates enthusiasm amongst all children to develop key skills. Even the most reluctant writers send Jack letters to find out about his latest adventures.  The early years leader provides strong direction for the staff team. All adults take an active role in providing support and challenge to children that help them to make the next steps in their learning. Leadership of early years is insightful and ensures children make good progress.  The school’s approach to behaviour and safety starts in the early years. Children are kept safe by the adults but are able to use a range of materials and work independently or collaboratively, learning to

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The early years provision is good

manage risk wisely. During the inspection, a group of children were observed hammering nails into wood because they wanted to make Jack the Giraffe a car. They had selected their own safety equipment, including goggles for eye protection.  Adults carry out regular checks on children’s learning. Parents and carers contribute information that help teachers to gain a deeper understanding of each child. Teachers use this information to set up stimulating activities in the classroom and the outside area that enable children to make good progress across all areas of learning.

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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 123011 Local authority Oxfordshire Inspection number 461941

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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 405 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Joanna Powell Headteacher Iain Horner Date of previous school inspection 15–16 May 2012 Telephone number 01869 323525 Fax number 01869 322505 Email address office.2210@kings-meadow.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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