Kingston Park Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Kingston Park Primary School Cranleigh Avenue, Kingston Park, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Tyne and Wear NE3 2EL

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Outcome

Kingston Park Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are very happy and safe. They behave well in lessons and around the school. There is hardly any bullying. If bullying does happen, leaders take it very seriously. They speak to pupils straight away, involve their parents and carers, and make sure that the bullying stops.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Teachers expect the best for every child. Pupils take great pride in their work and school. They put on an exhibition each summer. Parents, governors and members of the community are invited to come and hear about pupils’ learning.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have correctly identified that they need to improve the curriculum. This work has been prioritised for development this year. Leaders have put teachers into curriculum teams to work on this together. Leaders want to make sure that pupils can remember in the long term what they have learned.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff and pupils know that they are very lucky to be able to welcome pupils who have complex physical and medical difficulties. All pupils learn together. Pupils care for each other and make sure that everyone is safe. All parents appreciate how inclusive this school is. One parent said, ‘The special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) provision and ethos of inclusion our child has experienced is unparalleled.’

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Most pupils reach the expected standard for their age, and lots of Year 6 pupils do even better than that. Most pupils love reading, but there are a few who are not managing to learn to read as quickly as they should. For these pupils, the sequence of their reading books does not show a clear progression in phonics knowledge. Some of these pupils in Year 2 and Year 3 are still reading books that are meant for Reception children. These pupils cannot use their phonics well enough to read these books fluently.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Children are engrossed in their learning in Nursery and Reception. Children play well 22–23 October 2019

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together and take turns. Teachers are good at helping most children get off to a flying start when they are learning to read. Teaching assistants are good at giving some children extra help if they need it. However, some children are not catching up swiftly enough with their reading.

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Pupils feel very safe and secure. Pupils behave well in lessons and on the playground. Behaviour never disrupts learning.

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Leaders are doing a great job in developing pupils’ social skills. Pupils understand the similarities and differences between people. Pupils with SEND help all pupils to learn how to treat everyone equally and fairly. This because everyone works alongside each other each day. Even the youngest children take care of others. They go and get help quickly if someone needs it. Leaders know that this responsibility is helping pupils to grow up to be caring citizens.

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Leaders are determined to ensure that the curriculum is the very best for every child. Leaders have correctly identified this as the top priority in this year’s school improvement plan. Leaders have made a good start. They are already well on the way to improving the curriculum.

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Some pupils cannot remember what they have learned, for example in history and music. In music, this varies depending on whether pupils are learning to play musical instruments or not. There are lots of extra opportunities for pupils to reinforce their learning in music if they learn a musical instrument. For example, Year 6 pupils who are learning to play musical instruments can remember musical notation. This is because they are reminded how to read music in their music lessons. They practise, and this helps them to remember. Pupils who do not learn to play musical instruments cannot remember as well. They are not reminded as often, and they do not have the same opportunities to practise regularly.

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Whether pupils are learning to play musical instruments or not does not affect what pupils can remember about the history of music or great composers. Many pupils cannot remember anything about this. They cannot remember listening to classical music in school, despite this being on the curriculum.

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Leaders have thought carefully about the sequence of teaching in all subjects. Curriculum plans include all of the content that pupils should learn in primary school. However, leaders have not identified the most important content in each subject that they want pupils to remember long term. They do not check that teachers are coming back to this important content again and again. Pupils do not get lots of opportunities to practise what they have learned. The most important content in each subject does not stick in pupils’ minds.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

There is a strong culture of safeguarding. Leaders regularly provide safeguarding training 22–23 October 2019

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for all staff. Governors also receive regular training.

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Thorough safeguarding records are kept. Leaders include pupils’ views in these records. Pupils know whom to go to for help.

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Pupils do remember what they have been taught about staying safe. Leaders have ensured that there are thorough procedures for checking that absent pupils are safe.

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The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) makes sure that medical care plans are updated regularly. Healthcare professionals are asked to check that these plans are good enough to keep pupils with SEND safe.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders have carefully planned what content will be covered and when in each subject of the national curriculum. However, pupils do not remember enough of what they have been taught. Leaders should identify the most important content in each subject and make sure that this content is practised and revisited periodically in later years. Pupils need to remember the important knowledge in the long term.  Most pupils are learning to read successfully. Leaders want every pupil to learn to read well. For the very few struggling readers, leaders should make sure that pupils are given reading books that only include words that match pupils’ phonics knowledge. Teachers should give pupils lots of practice in reading these books so that all pupils become fluent and confident readers. They should make sure that they are moving pupils on quickly enough so that they catch up quickly.

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Background

When we have judged good we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called a section 8 inspection of a good school or non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that the school could now be better than good or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the predecessor school, Kingston Park Primary School, to be good in September 2013. 22–23 October 2019

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use Ofsted Parent View information when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

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. 22–23 October 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10097566 Type of school Primary

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 This school joined the SMART Multi-Academy Trust on 1 November 2016.  This school includes an additionally resourced provision (ARP) for up to 12 pupils with complex physical and medical needs.

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Information about this inspection

 I met the headteacher, the deputy headteacher and the assistant headteacher, along with subject leaders for history and music. I also met the specialist music teacher and the SENCo.  I met the chair of the board of trustees, the chair of the local governing body, five governors and the chief executive officer of the multi-academy trust. I also met a recently qualified teacher to ask her about the training and support she had been given as a newly qualified teacher. I spoke to staff who were supervising pupils at lunchtime and in breakfast club. I met two staff who maintain records of recruitment checks and training records. I also met the safeguarding leader.  I selected three subjects for closer scrutiny. These subjects were reading, music and history. I spoke to pupils about their learning and heard pupils read. I also observed pupils reading to their own teachers. I visited lessons and discussed pupils’ work with

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curriculum leaders. I met with teachers following visits to their lessons.  I spoke to several parents before school and reviewed the 88 responses left by parents through Ofsted’s Parent View survey. I saw letters that had been written by parents to the headteacher expressing their reluctant decision to remove their children from the school.  There were no responses to the staff or pupil surveys.

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Inspection team

Tracey Ralph, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector 22–23 October 2019

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regulates and inspects to 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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