Kingsley Primary School

Kingsley Primary School Taybrooke Avenue, Hartlepool TS25 5JR

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a school that requires improvement

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Pupils in key stage 2, especially disadvantaged pupils and those with low prior attainment, do not make rapid progress in reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils in the early years and key stage 1 do not make rapid enough progress in their acquisition of phonics.  The quality of teaching is inconsistent across the school. Teachers’ subject knowledge is not as strong in mathematics as it is in reading and writing.  The work of the very large number of teaching assistants is inconsistent. Not all are deployed well in lessons to have a significant impact on pupils’ progress. Some do not have sufficient subject knowledge in mathematics.  The systems and procedures to assess the progress pupils make in each key stage are not robust. Leaders, including governors, have an inaccurate view of children’s attainment when they first join the school in the early years.  Many senior and middle leaders are relatively

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

new to their roles. Their practice in checking the actions taken to improve outcomes for pupils requires improvement. Leaders’ planning for improvement is not strong. Targets set in strategic plans are not sharp enough to ensure that improvements are brought about quickly.  Pupils’ attendance, although improving, is below the national average, and has been over a number of years.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The most able pupils make good progress because work is carefully matched to their abilities.  Children settle very quickly on entry to the early years because of the highly effective transition activities provided by the staff.  Pupils behave well both in and around school. They are polite and respectful to each other, staff and visitors.  The school makes exemplary provision for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Parents are happy with the provision and believe it to be ‘phenomenal’.  Newly qualified teachers are supported well through effective induction and a structured programme of continuing professional development.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership and management by ensuring that: – teachers make accurate assessments of children’s skills and abilities on entry to the early years and throughout their time at the school – leaders have an accurate understanding of the progress made by all pupils and all groups of pupils from their starting points – the improvement plan for the school clearly identifies the actions required to fulfil each objective, the persons to carry out, monitor and evaluate the actions and the milestones against which success can be measured – all feedback to teachers on lesson observations includes actions to be undertaken which will directly impact on the progress pupils make – leaders at all levels measure the impact of the actions they have undertaken and the initiatives they have introduced and report back to the headteacher and governing body.  Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment by ensuring that:

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

– teachers and teaching assistants have sufficient mathematical subject knowledge to deliver lessons which enable pupils to make at least good progress – teachers raise their expectations of what pupils with low prior attainment can achieve – teachers consistently deploy teaching assistants effectively – teachers consistently provide work in phonics which meets the needs and abilities of the children in the early years and in key stage 1.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

An external review of the school’s use of the pupil premium should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

 Leaders have an inaccurate view of the school’s effectiveness because their evaluation of the work of the school is not robust. The action plan for improvement is not tightly focused. There is a lack of clarity between who must carry out, monitor and evaluate planned improvement actions, together with a lack of milestones by which progress can be measured.  The structure of the school’s leadership team was remodelled at the beginning of the 2015/16 academic year. Senior and middle leaders, although willing and keen, do not monitor the work of the school with sufficient rigour. Leaders are unaware of the impact of the new initiatives which they have implemented.  The leaders (who are phase leaders for the early years, key stage 1, lower key stage 2 and upper key stage 2) check on the work of teachers regularly. However, the areas for development that they identify are not focused tightly enough on improving the

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

attainment and progress of pupils.  Leaders have not ensured that the school’s assessment systems are robust. For example, senior leaders and governors told the inspectors that all of the children enter the early years with skills and abilities below those expected for their age. This is not the case.  The wide variation in the performance of different groups shows that equality of opportunity and the use of the pupil premium require improvement.  Leaders have invested in an online system to record any incidents of poor behaviour but do not analyse the information to ascertain if the number and type of incidents are increasing or decreasing. Consequently, they cannot measure the impact of their behaviour management strategies on improving pupils’ behaviour.  The school makes very effective provision for newly qualified teachers. The initial induction procedures are effective and the structured programme of continuing

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

professional development is strong.  Staff at all levels communicate a strong sense of wanting to improve, to ensure the best outcomes for the pupils. The online staff questionnaires showed a pride in the school and confidence in the leadership.  The physical education and sport funding for primary schools is spent judiciously to increase the numbers of pupils participating in sporting activities on a regular basis and to improve the expertise of both staff and pupils. As a result, the school’s table tennis team is extremely successful and represents Hartlepool in national competitions.  The school’s special educational needs coordinator leads the staff team well. Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities who are entitled to additionally resourced provision and those who are educated solely in the main school are provided with bespoke and individualised provision which leads to their good progress. Leaders

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

have ensured that Kingsley Primary School is a fully inclusive school.  The curriculum is broad and balanced and makes very effective use of both the local and wider geographical area. Pupils appreciate the number of visits and visitors which add interest to their learning. They told inspectors that they particularly enjoy completing scientific investigations and that practically ‘doing something’ helps them to remember facts and theories. French is taught throughout key stage 2 and pupils’ skills and confidence are increasing as it becomes embedded. Pupils from key stages 1 and 2 confidently discussed British values with inspectors. They know what is right and what is wrong, can make informed decisions and understand the consequences of making poor decisions. Pupils throughout the school are encouraged to reflect on their learning in order to make it better. The curriculum is underpinned by a wide range of extra-

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

curricular activities which are attended well by pupils.

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Governance of the school

 Governors, especially the group of four core governors, have become much more knowledgeable about the work of the school through visits and presentations from leaders. They are committed to improving their expertise further and attend training in school with the staff, bespoke training delivered by educational consultants and the programme of training events organised by the local authority.  Governors thoroughly understand the link between performance and pay progression and have taken assertive action when performance is poor.  Governors were disappointed with the school’s key stage 2 results in 2016 and, in response, the core group of governors has increased the regularity of its challenge meetings with the headteacher.  Although one core governor has a deep understanding of the school’s data, the remaining core group members are not sufficiently informed about the impact of pupil premium funding in all year groups.

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Governance of the school

 Governors place high priority on keeping pupils safe and have employed a range of experts, such as the school counsellor, to improve the provision for pupils and their families.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. The school’s single central record of recruitment checks is exemplary. School leaders place a high priority on keeping pupils safe and staff ‘go the extra mile’ for vulnerable pupils and their families. The child protection and other safeguarding policies are comprehensive and regularly updated. Pupils, parents and staff feel safe in school. Safety checks, such as fire drills, happen on a regular basis. Risk assessments are thorough and regularly updated. Staff have a thorough knowledge of safeguarding procedures. They have read the most recent guidance on keeping children safe in education and attend regular updates from the three designated child protection officers in school. The headteacher sits on the local authority’s safeguarding children’s board.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

 The quality of teaching is improving but is too variable across the school. In some classes, teachers assess pupils’ achievements with some expertise, plan work that is carefully matched to the needs of pupils, have high expectations of their pupils and ensure that not a moment’s learning time is wasted. The pupils make exceptional progress in these classes. However, in other classes, teachers struggle with classroom organisation, provide work which is far too easy or far too hard and do not have sufficient subject knowledge. Pupils do not make good progress in these classes.  The quality of the large teaching assistant workforce is inconsistent. Some teaching assistants are highly skilled and, when deployed effectively by class teachers, really make a difference to pupils’ learning and progress. However, on more than one occasion during the inspection, pupils’ progress was impeded because teaching

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

assistants delivered incorrect mathematical knowledge to pupils.  Teachers, for the most part, follow the school’s teaching and learning procedures carefully. They provide feedback to pupils verbally in lessons and mark pupils’ workbooks in accordance with the school’s policy. During the inspection, senior leaders identified that not all of the marking in mathematics leads to pupils making further improvement. This marking purely restated the learning objective of the lesson.  The teaching of phonics is improving slowly but is not consistently good. Pupils who have been taught phonics for a number of years still do not use subject-specific vocabulary such as ‘phoneme’, ‘grapheme’ and ‘split digraph’ confidently.  The teaching of reading is improving in line with the pupils’ knowledge, understanding and use of phonics. Pupils in Years 1, 2 and 3 read previously unseen books to inspectors, chosen to be just at the right level of difficulty by their teachers. These

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

pupils used their knowledge of phonics to read unknown words correctly and were able to use their knowledge to answer difficult questions about the text.  In English, the teaching of spelling, grammar and punctuation requires further development. Inspectors found that the pupils in Year 2 are using more sophisticated punctuation and vocabulary than older pupils in Year 4. However, the pupils in Year 6 use a wide range of punctuation and vocabulary to good effect. One pupil’s ‘rampaging suffragettes’ phrase was particularly effective.  Teachers have high expectations of handwriting and presentation and, as a result, pupils’ workbooks are extremely well presented.  Teachers and teaching assistants make exceptional provision for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities across the school.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  Pupils understand the forms that bullying can take. They told inspectors that bullying is rare. Pupils have confidence that the adults in school will address any incidents of bullying immediately.  Pupils in every key stage know how to stay safe when working online. They know exactly what to do if contacted online by an unknown person who wants to be their friend.  Pupils have a good knowledge of what constitutes healthy eating and having a healthy lifestyle. They appreciate the provision of a counsellor in school and know that, should they need it, help is at hand.  Pupils have very good attitudes to learning, especially in the lessons where work is challenging and interesting.  The pupils who attend the additionally resourced provision are fully integrated into the life of the school. Every opportunity is taken for them to develop their social circle and

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Pupils behave very well in lessons and during the more unstructured times of the school day. Behaviour at lunchtime is exceptional. The older pupils lead by example when they choose whether to eat in the dining hall, have a picnic in the hall or use the picnic tables outside. Lunchtime is a truly pleasant occasion during which social skills are honed and friendships developed.  The school has a policy of zero exclusions. The school’s own counsellor works proactively with pupils, their families and a range of outside agencies to ensure that the problems that could lead to exclusions are addressed promptly and effectively.  A very calm atmosphere pervades throughout the school. Pupils, some of whom have very complex needs, travel around quietly and with great consideration for others.  Too many pupils, especially disadvantaged pupils, are absent and persistently absent.

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Behaviour

Absences are now decreasing because of the work of the recently appointed attendance officer. Initiatives introduced, such as the display of class attendance rockets, had a positive impact on the number of days that pupils attended school in the summer term.

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

 The proportion of Year 6 pupils who reached the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics combined in 2016 was well below the national average.  The school’s assessment information indicates that at the end of the 2015/16 academic year, pupils in Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 did not make sufficient progress in reading, writing and mathematics from their starting points at the end of key stage 1.  Specifically, in 2016, disadvantaged pupils and pupils with lower starting points did not make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics. However, the most able pupils, including the most able who are also disadvantaged, did make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics throughout key stage 2.  Over time, pupils have reached broadly average standards in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 1. The progress made in writing and mathematics by the Year 2 pupils in 2016 lags behind the progress they made in reading which was

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

good.  The proportion of pupils who achieved the expected standard in the Year 1 check of phonics was below average in 2015 and 2016.  Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, whether based in the additionally resourced provision or based in mainstream classrooms, make good progress from their individual starting points.

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Early years provision Good

 The proportion of children reaching a good level of development at the end of the early years is improving year-on-year and was broadly average in 2016. Children make good progress from their different starting points.  Children settle quickly into Nursery when they are first admitted because they are familiar with the school environment. Many of the children have already attended the pre-nursery group and mother and toddler group which take place on the school site.  Children are happy at school. They are comfortable in both the indoor and the outdoor early years environments. They develop friendships and play cooperatively with each other and alongside adults.  Parents are particularly happy with the provision and value the care that staff give to the children and their families. Parents appreciate the information provided by staff about the Nursery and the Reception classes. They also appreciate the additional

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Early years provision Good

support staff provide about number formation and phonics.  Teachers and teaching assistants in the early years use their thorough knowledge of the children’s skills and abilities to plan activities and work to maximise learning and enjoyment. Children are always encouraged to write, count and explore.  The progress made by children can be clearly seen in their learning journals and in the assessments carried out by teachers and teaching assistants. However, inspectors did not agree with the school that all children enter the Nursery with skills and abilities below those typical for their age. Some new starters were found to have very well- developed speech and language capabilities. They could hold a conversation and answer questions quite competently.  The proportion of children who are ready for the demands of the Year 1 curriculum is increasing year-on-year.  On occasions, adults do not make sure that phonics work meets the differing needs

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Early years provision Good

and abilities of the children in the Reception class. During the inspection, and some three weeks into the new school year, staff were reassessing the children’s knowledge of phonics prior to beginning new teaching. This represented a wasted opportunity and slowed the progress of the children.

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School details

Unique reference number 111601 Local authority Hartlepool Inspection number 10019378

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School details

This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act.

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Maintained Age range of pupils 3 to 11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 496 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair John Vale Headteacher Alison Darby Telephone number 01429 273102 Website www.kingsleyprimary.com Email address admin.kingsley@school.hartlepool.gov.uk Date of previous inspection 8–9 May 2013

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Information about this school

 The school does not meet requirements on the publication of information about the pupil premium funding and the physical education and sport premium for primary schools on its website.  The school is much larger than the average-sized primary school.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils, those eligible for support through pupil premium funding, is above average.  The overwhelming majority of pupils are of White British heritage.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities receiving support is below the national average. The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities with a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan is above average.  The school is additionally resourced to offer up to 25 places for children with autism spectrum disorder. These pupils are all included in mainstream classes for much of the

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Information about this school

time.  Children in the early years attend full-time provision in the Reception classes and part- time provision in the Nursery class.  The school runs its own breakfast club and after-school provision.  The school met the government’s minimum floor standards for primary schools in 2015.  There has been significant turbulence in the teaching staff since the last inspection. A significant number of teachers are at the very early stages of their career.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors visited 23 part lessons, eight of which were observed jointly with members of the senior leadership team.  Inspectors visited the school’s breakfast club and talked with parents at the beginning of the school day.  Meetings were held with senior, middle and subject leaders, and three governors, including the chair of the governing body. The lead inspector also spoke with the school’s improvement officer from Hartlepool local authority.  The inspectors spoke informally to pupils in lessons and at various times during each day. They also spoke formally with two groups of pupils, a group from Years 2, 4 and 6 and a group from Years 1, 3 and 5.  Questionnaire returns submitted online by 15 members of staff and 82 pupils were taken into consideration.  The inspectors scrutinised a range of pupils’ workbooks and information about pupils’ current progress in lessons. They also reviewed a number of documents, including the

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Information about this inspection

school’s improvement plan, attendance records, information relating to the work the school does to keep pupils safe, headteacher’s reports to governors and minutes of meetings of the governing body.  The inspectors took account of the views of 24 parents from the Ofsted online survey, Parent View, together with two surveys of parental views provided by the school.  Pupils from Years 1, 2 and 3 read to one of Ofsted’s inspectors.

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Inspection team

Belita Scott, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Frances Gowland Ofsted Inspector 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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Inspection team

In the report, 'disadvantaged pupils' refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. www.gov.uk/pupil-premium-information-for-schools-and- alternative-provision-settings .

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Inspection team

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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Inspection team

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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Inspection team

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, further education and skills, 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.

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Inspection team

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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

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