Kingfisher Primary Academy

Inspection of a good school: Kingfisher Primary Academy Coventry Grove, Wheatley, Doncaster, South Yorkshire DN2 4PY

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Outcome

Kingfisher Primary Academy continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy learning at school. They get on well with each other. In lessons, they discuss what they are doing with their classmates and practise their improving vocabulary. Pupils are polite and courteous to each other and adults. They hold doors open for visitors and walk sensibly to their lessons. Teachers and pupils have good relationships and enjoy spending time together. During ‘purposeful play’, pupils learn how to talk kindly to each other and how to play a range of games.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils like debating issues which matter to them, such as the upcoming general election. They have also discussed the issue of plastic pollution and deforestation, which they wrote a book about. This raised money in support of orangutans across the world. The pupils are proud of this and it helps them feel they are making a difference.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Classrooms are busy and productive. Pupils enjoy the work they do because it has been well thought through by teachers. This means they behave well and concentrate on what they are doing. Pupils realise that other pupils can be unkind on the playground. But they know that bullying is always dealt with by adults. As a result, pupils feel happy and safe.

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

Leaders know the community which they serve well. They have thought about the knowledge and skills pupils need to learn. They have then designed a suitable curriculum which meets these needs. This is well taught by teachers. As a result, the quality of education in the school is good.

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

Most subjects in school have clear plans for the skills pupils need to obtain. Teachers use them to design stimulating and interesting lessons for the pupils. Pupils learn the skills intended and this helps them produce something which shows off what they can do. This approach is well developed in English, mathematics, art, science and computing. In these subjects, all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are set work that they can achieve. This ensures that they behave well in lessons 26–27 November 2019

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and try their very best in what they do. Leaders have not yet made plans for history and geography that are as helpful as in other subjects. They have a sensible and realistic plan for when they will improve these subjects.

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Teachers are clear on what they want pupils to achieve. For example, in Year 2 art and design lessons, pupils were improving their ability to create different tints and shades of the same colour. They were then able to use these skills to produce a painting in the style of the artist Chuck Close.

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Teachers receive training in the skills and knowledge they need to teach each subject. This means they are very well equipped to know what pupils will need to learn in each lesson. Sometimes, though, teachers need to be better at assessing whether pupils have remembered key knowledge. At times, pupils forget important information. This means they are less able to remember new learning.

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Pupils enjoy reading in school. Pupils and teachers all feel that it is important. All teachers know which sounds pupils need to know to help them learn to read well. As a result, more and more pupils can read with accuracy and growing fluency by the time they reach Year 2. Pupils further on in the school practise their reading through engaging and challenging texts. Sometimes, though, the books pupils take home are not helpful for them.

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Children in Nursery and Reception learn basic skills in a variety of subjects. Teachers ensure that pupils know the facts they need to be ready for Year 1, for example which numbers add up to make five. Children listen to stories and can retell them to their teacher. This helps them learn new words which they use when talking to each other.

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Through studying global themes, pupils develop character and well-rounded opinions about the modern world, for example how the civil rights movement in America has affected art and people’s lives. They get further opportunities to talk about these topical issues in assemblies and philosophy sessions. This is preparing them to be caring and responsible citizens.

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Teachers in the school are happy and enjoy coming to work. Staff talk about the importance of respect and working as a team.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

All adults in the school understand the importance of keeping children safe. If any member of staff has a concern, they report it straight away. Well-trained members of the safeguarding team take the action needed and record what they have done.

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Safeguarding

Leaders train all staff on the risks that children might face. Adults are therefore very knowledgeable about spotting issues that might be a problem. 26–27 November 2019

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Books which children take home are not always suitable for their reading development. For those learning phonics, books are not always matched to the sounds which they are learning. As a result, they are not able to read these books successfully. The books they take home should match the graphemes they are learning in school.  For children in key stage 2, not all books are exciting to read, particularly for those children who are struggling with their reading. Consequently, these children do not always find their books interesting and so do not read regularly. All pupils, particularly those who have historically not passed the phonics screening check, should have books which are interesting and engaging. This means they can enjoy and be proud of what they are reading, and therefore read more often.  Sometimes, children forget knowledge they have learned because it is not revisited, for example key features of the work of famous artists or number bonds in mathematics.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

This means that they do not build on this taught knowledge and so make less progress than they should. Teachers need to ensure that they assess the knowledge retained by pupils in all subjects. They should ensure that lessons revisit knowledge that has not been retained in order to strengthen pupils’ memory.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be 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, Kingfisher Primary School, to be good on 8 October 2013.

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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. 26–27 November 2019

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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. 26–27 November 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10119939 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

 The school became an academy in February 2017. It is now part of the Astrea Academy Trust. Before converting, the school was judged to be good in October 2013.  The school is larger than the average-sized primary school.  There is a Nursery which pupils can start at the age of three.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils for whom the school receives the pupil premium funding is slightly above the national average.  The proportion of pupils with SEND is low.

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Information about this inspection

 I spoke with the principal, the vice-principal, the chair of the transition management board and two members of the trust with responsibility for governance.  I looked at reading, mathematics and art and design in detail. I talked to leaders and teachers about their curriculum plans. I also talked to pupils about what they knew and remembered in these subjects. I looked at pupils’ work and discussed this with them.  I checked the record the school keeps of all staff and the records they keep on any 26–27 November 2019

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safeguarding concerns. I spoke with leaders about how they keep children safe.  I talked with staff about how well leaders ensure that they are able to do their job and about the training they receive for this.  I spoke with parents and carers at the start of the day and checked the 13 responses to the online survey, Parent View.  I checked the support plans for children with SEND and looked at how these were helping with their learning.

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Inspection team

Matthew Knox, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 26–27 November 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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