Kings Hill School

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Mrs Alice Early Headteacher Kings Hill School Crispin Way Kings Hill West Malling Kent ME19 4LS

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Short inspection of Kings Hill School

Following my visit to the school on 11 July 2017, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in January 2013.

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Short inspection of Kings Hill School

The leadership team has improved further the quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You have established a new vision for the school and set high expectations for pupils and staff. This vision has inspired the school community to support you in your determination that every pupil will fulfil their potential. Pupils and staff identify with the school’s mission statement, ‘Inspired to believe. Inspired to achieve.’ You have developed an inclusive ethos, where pupils are encouraged to become active and responsible global citizens. The school’s culture is based upon the values of responsibility, courage, resilience, respect, cooperation and kindness. You have established very strong relationships with parents who recognise both your commitment and the significant improvements you have made to the school, including the raising of overall standards. A number of parents say that their

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Short inspection of Kings Hill School

children commit to the school values, even when they are at home.

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Short inspection of Kings Hill School

You have a new, innovative curriculum in place which includes outdoor learning and specialist teaching in French and physical education. The school has recently been awarded the Green School Awards commendation as well as the Values-based Education Quality Mark. In addition, you have successfully led the school to achieve the Inclusion Quality Mark, a national special needs award and the gold level National SMSC (spiritual, moral, social and cultural) Quality Mark from the Citizenship Foundation.

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Short inspection of Kings Hill School

You have improved the way school leaders review the progress of disadvantaged pupils. This has enabled you and middle leaders to identify any underachievement more quickly and take effective action to address pupils’ misconceptions. These actions have had a very positive impact on the 2017 key stage 2 outcomes for disadvantaged pupils. The vast majority of these pupils at the school make good or better progress and achieve well.

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Short inspection of Kings Hill School

Pupils’ behaviour is very good. Pupils are polite and sensible in class and on the playground. Pupils say that there is always an adult available if they need help or are worried about something. Parents fully appreciate the good behaviour in the school and say that their children enjoy coming to school. Parents also feel that their children, especially those who are more vulnerable, are well supported in lessons.

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Short inspection of Kings Hill School

At the time of the last inspection, inspectors identified many strengths including pupils’ achievement, pupils’ good behaviour and the effectiveness of the governing body. Inspectors also asked leaders to improve some aspects of the school. These included the need for lessons to be pitched at the right level so that pupils do not lose concentration; for teachers to apply the school’s marking policy consistently and give clear guidance to pupils about their next learning steps; and for pupils to know how to improve their work. Leaders have successfully tackled these areas of improvement and the quality of teaching and learning has continued to improve.

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Short inspection of Kings Hill School

Your school improvement plan sets out clearly how you plan to improve the school further. You rightly aspire for an even higher proportion of most-able pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, to achieve greater depth of learning in mathematics.

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Short inspection of Kings Hill School

Pupils feel safe at school and parents are very satisfied with how well the school cares for their children. Appropriate safeguarding policies and procedures are fully in place. Regular assemblies about how to stay safe ensure that pupils can identify the school’s designated safeguarding leads. Appropriate training has ensured that staff and governors are well informed of safeguarding matters and understand fully how to raise a concern. Any necessary actions are taken without delay. Additional training has also made sure that staff know how to keep pupils safe from the risk of radicalisation and extremism.

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Inspection findings

 During the inspection, we looked closely at the progress of disadvantaged pupils in mathematics in key stage 2; the attainment of disadvantaged pupils in mathematics, science, spelling, punctuation and grammar in key stage 2; and the progress of the most able pupils, including those pupils who are disadvantaged, particularly in mathematics. We also looked at disadvantaged pupils’ rates of absence.  In 2017, at the end of key stage 2, the progress and attainment of disadvantaged pupils in mathematics, science, spelling, grammar and punctuation improved significantly. Disadvantaged pupils achieved as well as other pupils in science and the gap between the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and other pupils in spelling, grammar and punctuation diminished considerably. Leaders’ effective use of the additional pupil premium funding has enabled a much higher proportion of disadvantaged pupils to achieve the expected standards at the end

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Inspection findings

of key stage 2.  Across the school, some of the most able pupils are not yet making consistently strong progress in mathematics. This is because some pupils are not consistently challenged and their learning is not sufficiently moved on. While there is a high level of challenge in some year groups, this is not consistent across the school.  In 2017, at the end of key stage 2, disadvantaged most-able pupils attained as well as other most-able pupils in mathematics. However, this cohort is too small to make for meaningful comparison. School leaders are not at all complacent and have plans in place to continue to improve outcomes for disadvantaged pupils.  Disadvantaged pupils’ attendance has improved and the attendance rates for all pupils at the school remain above the national average. Leaders’ effective action has led to a significant reduction in the levels of persistent absence for disadvantaged pupils.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 the most able pupils, including the most able disadvantaged pupils, are more consistently challenged in mathematics to enable more of these pupils to achieve highly. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Kent. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

I met with you and your senior team. I spoke with middle leaders, teachers, pupils, governors and the local authority adviser. I carried out a learning walk with you, visiting classrooms in each key stage. I observed two key stage 2 mathematics lessons. I scrutinised a wide range of pupils’ work. I met pupils at lunch and on the playground. I took account of 38 responses to the staff survey and 136 responses from parents to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View. I met with parents on the playground at the start of the day. I observed pupils’ behaviour at lunchtime and around the school. I analysed a range of the school’s documentation and data including details of safeguarding checks, policies and procedures.

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