Kingsteignton School

Kingsteignton School Heron Way, Kingsteignton, Newton Abbot, Devon TQ12 3QY

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Effective partnerships across the learning partnership have strengthened leadership at all levels within the school, including the appointment of a new special educational needs leader.  Disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive effective support. As a result, they make good progress in most subjects.  Teachers use the curriculum effectively to provide a broad range of activities that engage pupils’ interests and help them make good progress.  Pupils apply their skills in reading and mathematics exceptionally well. Pupils are keen and enthusiastic readers. They acquire phonics skills well.  Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is a strength of the school. Pupils have positive attitudes, show high levels of respect and behave well.  Children make a successful start in the early years because of good teaching, effective support and stimulating experiences.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The school’s action plans do not identify with sufficient precision how those responsible for governance can evaluate the impact of actions and teaching strategies to raise standards.  Safeguarding is effective. However, more work needs to be done to ensure that all staff have a strong understanding of the risks associated with administrative errors.  Current pupils are making good progress in response to effective teaching. However, some important weaknesses in writing and when applying writing skills in other subjects, such as history and geography, limits pupils’ progress. This includes the most able pupils.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further increase the accountability of leaders by ensuring that: – school improvement plans are more sharply focused, for example with clear targets and timescales, to ensure that they have the required impact on raising pupils’ achievement, especially for pupils with SEND – leaders, including trustees, monitor plans regularly and make adjustments to increase the effectiveness of their work.  Improve the quality of teaching and learning by ensuring that teachers: – develop pupils’ ability to use their knowledge and skills in writing across the curriculum, in order to increase the number of pupils reaching the higher standards of which they are capable – improve the teaching and assessment of spelling across key stage 1 so that pupils understand spelling patterns and rules and spell words correctly.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 Leaders and trustees of the United Schools Trust have an ambitious vision for the school. They understand the school’s strengths and areas where further improvements can be made. For example, during joint observations of teaching and learning, the principal demonstrated an accurate understanding of the quality of education throughout the school.  The level of support provided by the United Schools Federation has been instrumental in helping the school to improve. This includes support with the training and coaching of staff to continue to strengthen teaching and learning. Leaders are outward-looking and keen to learn from the most up-to-date research. An example of this is demonstrated in the way leaders have worked together to evaluate the effectiveness of the current school curriculum.  The school’s curriculum provides pupils with opportunities to learn a breadth of knowledge and skills through a range of topics. Pupils find these topics, for example

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

‘Stone Age’ and ‘Dinosaur Habitats’, interesting, and are keen to share their learning. Consequently, they have a broad knowledge and understanding of the world in which they live.  The sport premium is used effectively. For example, leaders employ a specialist PE coach to deliver lessons and improve teachers’ subject knowledge and skills. Leaders also use this funding to provide swimming lessons. Consequently, pupils are equipped with the knowledge and skills required to stay safe in and around water.  Leaders make effective use of additional funding to provide appropriate support for the small number of disadvantaged pupils. Highly skilled teaching assistants provide effective and personalised support for individuals and small groups of pupils who need to catch up. Consequently, these pupils make good progress.  Pupils are secure in their knowledge and understanding of British values. Teachers use

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

published story books to help pupils to understand what these values mean and how they have an impact on their daily lives as members of the school and wider community. As a result, pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.  The recently appointed leader for special educational needs has made teachers aware of their responsibilities to plan for and support pupils with SEND. The school is now better placed to identify pupils’ needs and, in reading and mathematics, pupils thrive. However, inconsistencies remain in the quality of teaching and support that pupils with SEND receive to improve their writing because leaders have not used their analysis of the pupils’ progress sharply enough to identify weaknesses in provision and what actions should be taken to address those weaknesses.  Morale across the school is high. This is because leaders ensure that staff well-being is at the heart of the school’s values. They recognise the importance of a united

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

workforce in promoting positive learning experiences for pupils.  Leaders, including trustees, have correctly identified that the school improvement plan needs to be strengthened. The plan does not reflect well enough the improvements that leaders have identified or how, when and by whom actions taken are checked to make sure that they are having the best outcomes for pupils.

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Governance of the school

 Trustees have a broad range of skills which they use well to support and challenge leaders to evaluate and improve the school. They visit the school regularly to check the standards for themselves, asking leaders pertinent questions about the learning.  The trustees have ensured that resources are made available to improve facilities and enhance the quality of the school’s work. For example, they acted swiftly to accumulate funds from the sport premium to plan a purposeful outdoor adventure area. This is an example of the trustees’ vision and how effectively it is used to strengthen provision for all pupils.  Trustees are ambitious for all pupils and the community as a whole. Currently, the school teaches pupils from Reception class to Year 3. Trustees understand the school’s future development needs and the challenges that face the school as it expands to accommodate Years 4, 5 and 6.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  While the appointment process of staff is thorough, leaders and trustees have overlooked some administrative aspects of safeguarding. As a result, aspects of the single central register and school website had to be corrected during the inspection. However, apart from this element of safeguarding compliance and procedure, other aspects of safeguarding meet requirements.  The school works with various external agencies to ensure that, where specialist support is required, or where a safeguarding concern is raised, staff respond quickly and effectively to keep pupils safe.  Staff receive high-quality training and timely updates on keeping pupils safe. For example, staff have undertaken training on the influence of radicalisation and how to protect pupils from child sexual exploitation. This means that staff are confident in the action to take if they have any concerns about the safety of a pupil.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 Teaching over time is good. Teachers have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour and their attitudes to learning. Pupils respond well to the warm, nurturing relationships and mutual respect demonstrated by adults. They work well, in partnership with both adults and other pupils, and develop as confident learners as they progress through the school.  Teaching assistants provide high-quality support to pupils with whom they work. They accurately identify pupils’ barriers to learning and work effectively to help pupils overcome them.  The rigorous implementation of a daily phonics programme is rapidly improving pupils’ phonics knowledge and reading. Consequently , t he number of pupils meeting the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check is consistently above the national average.  Teaching across the school inspires a love of reading. Once pupils have mastered basic phonics skills, they are encouraged to read widely and tackle challenging books.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

Consequently, reading records reflect the high priority given to reading. They show that children share their books with adults in school and read regularly at home. This, together with the effective teaching in phonics, is helping children get off to a good start in reading.  Teachers demonstrate strong subject knowledge in mathematics. As a result, pupils are able to use arithmetic skills, problem solving and reasoning with confidence and accuracy. However, very occasionally, the most able pupils are not always challenged sufficiently to deepen their mathematical understanding.  Teachers’ planning is not sharp enough in writing to ensure that pupils with SEND, and the most able, make good progress. Teachers’ understanding of what pupils need to do next is not always clear. Pupils, who are capable of achieving more, are hampered by not being given the opportunity to write at length. As a result, most-able pupils in key

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

stage 1 do not achieve as well as other similar pupils nationally in writing.  In English lessons, pupils use sophisticated language and a wide range of punctuation to make their writing interesting. However, the application of spelling patterns and rules are not routinely insisted upon to ensure that the standard of pupils’ descriptive writing improves. Consequently, pupils often repeat mistakes in the spelling of common words.  While pupils’ writing is neat and legible in English books, teachers’ lower expectations of pupils’ writing in topic books have resulted in weak presentation and poor handwriting in these books, especially in history and geography. Teachers’ inconsistent expectations in writing have led to pupils’ books varying widely in quality.  Many of the positive comments on Parent View reflect on the good quality of teaching. One comment that reflected many others was: ‘Kingsteignton is a fantastic school, it

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

has offered really holistic, nurturing care for my child while also stretching them to learn and develop.’ Almost all parents who responded to Parent View also agreed that their children are taught well at the school.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. Pupils have a deep, genuine attachment to equality and diversity. This has led to pupils having a mature outlook and appreciation of others. Leaders have established a truly caring and nurturing culture in the school.  Pupils know how to keep themselves safe. They have a comprehensive understanding of the different types of bullying and the harm they cause. Pupils say that bullying is not an issue in the school and that they trust teachers to resolve any rare instances, should they happen.  Teachers put an emphasis on internet safety. Pupils are taught about how to keep themselves safe when online. Pupils know not to give out personal information and to report cyber bullying should it occur.

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Behaviour

 The school’s approach to managing pupils’ behaviour is effective. A very clear set of high expectations and a calm teaching environment ensure that pupils have a positive attitude to learning. Pupils respond well to teachers’ clear expectations, praise and encouragement. Good teaching is successful in developing motivated and interested pupils who are keen to learn.  Pupils’ conduct around the school and in social times is excellent. They play and socialise together sensibly and enjoy spending time with adults, who facilitate a wide range of playground games. Pupils are polite and considerate to one another and to adults.  Where teachers’ expectations are not consistently high, some pupils do not take sufficient pride in their handwriting and presentation of their work.  All parents who responded to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, are confident that their children are safe in school.  Leaders are rigorous in their record-keeping of attendance. They use these records to

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Behaviour

robustly challenge pupil absence. This has enabled the school to take swift action in dealing with pupil absence. Consequently, attendance is improving quickly and is in line with the national average. The attendance of the few pupils who are persistently absent is rising quickly.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 Many children join the school with skills and abilities at levels that are below those typical for their age. From these starting points, pupils make rapid progress. As a result, by the time they leave the Reception class their achievement is often higher than typical for their age.  Some caution needs to be taken when interpreting achievement information in 2018 due to the relatively small numbers in Year 2. Nonetheless, the work in pupils’ books, supported by the school’s own information, shows that all pupils currently in Year 2 are making strong progress from their starting points.  In 2018, at the end of key stage 1, the proportion of pupils who attained the expected standards in reading, writing and mathematics was above the national average. However, no pupils reached the higher standard in writing.  Pupils talk with confidence about using mental strategies to calculate mathematical problems. Work in current pupils’ books is showing strong progress over time. Many

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Outcomes for pupils Good

pupils, especially the boys, are able to explain their reasoning in mathematics. However, on occasions, the most able pupils are not helped enough to achieve the highest standards.  The school has consistently supported pupils’ strong achievement in phonics. The proportion of pupils meeting the national standard has remained above the national average. However, pupils do not consistently apply their knowledge of phonics to their writing in key stage 1.  Outcomes for disadvantaged pupils are good. They make good progress because they are well supported by teachers in and out of class. Pupils who have SEND are benefiting from specialist ‘precision’ teaching to meet their individual needs. This ensures that they make good progress in their reading and mathematics. Parents appreciate the support that the school gives their children, both academically and emotionally.  Work in pupils’ English books shows good progress in writing. Pupils are improving

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Outcomes for pupils Good

their ability to write for longer periods of time and are writing with flair and creativity. Most pupils, including the disadvantaged pupils, complete lively pieces of writing, using their knowledge of punctuation and grammar correctly. Pupils use their improving knowledge of sophisticated vocabulary in their writing. Pupils’ handwriting is neat and legible in English books but this high standard is not consistently applied across other areas of the curriculum. As a result, some pupils are not achieving the high standards of which they are capable.  Pupils’ progress in writing is not developed as effectively in other subjects, such as history and geography, as it is in English lessons. Pupils have few opportunities to practise writing and to write at length, other than in English. Additionally, repeated spelling errors are not addressed in topic books. Consequently, mistakes are often embedded in pupils’ writing over time.

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Early years provision Good

 Children make good progress from their individual starting points in the early years. As a result, since the school opened in 2016, more children than the national average have achieved a good level of development.  The learning environment is lively and inviting, both indoors and outside. The early years team has created distinct areas to support children’s learning and development across the areas of learning. There are well-resourced small world, construction, writing, mathematics and role play areas. The outdoor learning area is purposefully designed around engaging children in all aspects of the early years curriculum. This captures children’s imagination and inspires them to learn.  Observations of learning for children currently in Reception highlight that provision and outcomes for these children continue to be good, especially in writing. Most children can write complete sentences using correct letter formation. The most able children

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Early years provision Good

use sophisticated language in their writing, using their phonics knowledge to help them spell words accurately.  Adults who work in the Reception class share a strong understanding of early childhood development. Teaching in the early years has a positive impact on the learning and progress of all children, who make good progress from the time they begin school. Effective communication between the Reception and the Year 1 teacher ensures that they plan effectively to meet children’s individual needs. Consequently, children are well prepared for transition to Year 1.  Children’s behaviour is good. They listen attentively to adults and to their peers. Children play collaboratively, sharing resources and waiting their turn patiently. When engaging in activities, children display high levels of resilience and concentration. They stick to a task and see it through to its completion.  The early years team has an effective assessment system to record the progress of

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Early years provision Good

individual children’s assessments. However, they recognise that this system has a limited focus. It does not provide the comprehensive information about the progress of groups of children that leaders require, in order to monitor rates of progress and hold teachers to account. Parents are occasionally invited to contribute to their child’s progress. However, leaders are aware that this is an area for further development.  Safeguarding practices in the early years are effective. There are no breaches of statutory welfare requirements. Staff comply with regulations, for example in writing detailed risk assessments, and ensure that systems to keep children safe are adhered to rigorously.

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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

Email address info@kingsteigntonschool.org

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school is a free school academy. It opened in September 2016 and moved into its new premises in January 2019.  The school works in partnership with the United Schools Federation.  The school currently has four year groups arranged in three classrooms, from Reception to Year 3.  The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is below the national average.  The proportion of pupils with SEND is slightly higher than national averages. The proportion of pupils who have an education, health and care plan is lower than the national average.  The majority of pupils are from White British backgrounds.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed learning in classes across the school. Most observations were undertaken jointly with the principal and deputy. Inspectors also observed pupils’ behaviour around the school and at breaktime and lunchtime.  Meetings were held with senior leaders, middle leaders, the leader with responsibility for pupils with SEND and a sample of support and teaching staff.  The lead inspector held a meeting with three trustees, including the chair of the board of trustees.  Inspectors spoke with pupils formally and informally during their breaktimes and lunchtimes and in class. The lead inspector also listened to groups of pupils read.  Inspectors examined a range of documentation provided by the school, including minutes of meetings of the board of trustees, the school’s self-evaluation document, the school’s improvement plan and documentation relating to the safeguarding of pupils.  Inspectors examined a large sample of pupils’ books from across the school.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors spoke with parents as they brought their children to school in the morning. The lead inspector also considered 33 responses to the Ofsted online survey, Parent View.

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Inspection team

Susan Costello, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Susan Horsnell 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 children looked after, 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

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open- government-licence/ , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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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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