Kempsey Primary School

Inspection of Kempsey Primary School Ellsdon, Kempsey, Worcester, Worcestershire WR5 3NT

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005 28–29 January 2020

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy at school. They enjoy their work and the wider activities on offer, for example ‘gym fest’, for younger children. Pupils attend school regularly. They respond enthusiastically to well-planned lessons. Pupils have high standards of behaviour and attitudes to learning in class and around school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have a good understanding of other cultures through activities such as ‘playgrounds through the world’. As a result, they respect each other’s differences. Relationships are strong.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have high expectations for pupils. Their ethos is to ‘challenge, create and dream’. However, there was a dip in outcomes in 2019 in reading, writing and mathematics.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have worked successfully to improve the way they plan the teaching of mathematics. Reading has a high priority. Nearly all pupils read books that are well- matched to the sounds and letters they know. They produce written work of high quality, for example in English, science and French. Leaders know there is still more to do to plan work in some subjects, such as design and technology.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders make sure pupils are safe. Parents, staff and pupils overwhelmingly agreed with this. Pupils spoken to confirmed this. Leaders deal effectively with any rare bullying incidents that occur.

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better?

Children get off to a good start in Reception. They settle quickly to their routines. As a result, they start to learn to read very early on in the first term. Staff ensure that children acquire their phonics skills promptly. This is because of the way teachers plan and implement lessons sequentially. This is not achieved as consistently well in key stage 1. However, by the end of Year 2 most pupils have achieved the expected standard in phonics and are reading regularly and often. Leaders foster a love of reading throughout the school. Pupils enthusiastically choose books from the appropriate band they have reached.

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better?

Progress and standards in reading, writing and mathematics were low for Year 6 pupils in 2019. Leaders have made changes to make sure that the way mathematics is planned helps pupils to learn and remember more. It also enables more pupils to work at greater depth.

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better?

Leaders have done much to improve opportunities for pupils to write with fluency and accuracy in their English lessons. This is supported in other subjects where pupils write regularly. For example, a biography of Florence Nightingale in history. Leaders have set out plans clearly for a sequence of learning in reading, writing, 28–29 January 2020

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spelling, punctuation and grammar. These enable pupils to build on what they already know.

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Leaders map out pupils’ learning and progress expectations as set out in the national curriculum. Leaders have made rapid progress with their curriculum plans this year, including in physical education (PE). This ensures that there is a plan of progression and skills in place. Similarly, leaders have set out clearly how they will check what pupils have learned in subjects such as PE. Planning in science ensures that pupils learn and remember more, for example about the heart and circulatory system. Younger pupils could recall their learning about classification of animals and the key features of mammals. They have a good understanding of rain forests. Curriculum planning in French ensures that pupils build on their previous learning. As a result, Year 6 pupils are writing in sentences and short paragraphs. Teachers know their subject well. Plans are less well developed in some subjects, including design and technology. In these subjects plans do not indicate clearly enough what

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leaders and teachers expect pupils to learn.

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Leaders provide a wealth of activities and clubs for pupils to enjoy, such as the ‘Kempsey Fest’ sleepover. However, they do not check if disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) take up these opportunities as regularly as other pupils. Similarly, leaders are not analysing in enough depth any patterns in the small number of behaviour and bullying incidents for these pupils.

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Leaders take great care to ensure that no pupils miss out on any of the subjects on offer. They have not excluded any pupil since long before the school became an academy. The school works successfully to integrate a high number of pupils mid- way through the year, some of whom have been previously excluded from other schools. The school has a growing number of pupils with SEND. Most parents were very positive about the provision of care and support in the school, which is of high quality. Leaders have ensured additional effective support for pupils’ emotional well- being through counselling.

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Leaders have responded to reducing staff workload, for example in planning and assessment in mathematics and PE. Staff who responded were unanimous in their appreciation of leaders’ actions.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders are highly responsive to any safeguarding incidents that occur. They ensure that any concerns are investigated thoroughly. Where necessary, they report incidents promptly. Records are kept safely and securely. Training is up to date, and staff know about the latest Department for Education guidance. Staff know how to report and record any concerns they have. Governors ensure that leaders carry out all their duties and meet all their statutory responsibilities. 28–29 January 2020

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Pupils, including younger ones, know how to keep themselves self on the road, during a fire drill and, for older ones, when using the internet or using social media.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Standards and rates of progress in reading, writing, mathematics were low in 2019. Leaders should ensure that the actions they are taking lead to significant improvements in 2020, including for those working in greater depth or a high standard, so that more pupils are well prepared for secondary school in their literacy and numeracy skills to succeed in a wider range of subjects.  Leaders have made significant progress in implementing their curriculum plans in a range of subjects. There are some, including design and technology, where this is less well developed. Leaders should ensure that curriculum plans in all subjects are consistently in place, so that teachers are clear of expectations and the knowledge and skills pupils should achieve. This should include arrangements for how leaders are going to assess pupils’ learning in each subject.  Leaders have not sufficiently monitored the uptake of disadvantaged pupils and

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

those with SEND for the clubs and other activities on offer to ensure that they are as involved in school life as their peers Their analysis of bullying and behaviour incidents for these groups of pupils as perpetrators or victims is also underdeveloped. They should ensure that appropriate monitoring and analysis is in place.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to 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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How can I feed back my views?

If you are the school and you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

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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. 28–29 January 2020

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School details

Inspection number 10132953 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school converted to become an academy in April 2017. Senior leadership and local governance remained unchanged from the predecessor school.  The school is one of three primary schools and one secondary school in the Hanley and Upton Education Trust.  There has been a significant increase in the school population since the school became an academy. This has led to increase in the proportion of pupils with SEND, which is now well above the national average.  Mid-year and mid-key-stage admissions are above the national average. For example, in the Year 6 cohort last year, 28% of pupils were not on roll at Kempsey at the end of key stage 1, and 33% of the cohort were on the special educational needs support register.  Leadership in mathematics and PE is new.

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Information about this inspection

We carried out this inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. 28–29 January 2020

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 We held meetings with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, subject leaders, the coordinator for SEND and early years and other members of staff. We spoke to pupils. We met seven members of the local governing body, including the chair. We also met the chief executive of the trust and the chair of the trust.  We took account of 107 responses to the Parent View free-text service and 108 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View. We also reviewed 29 responses to the staff questionnaire. There were no responses to the pupil questionnaire.  We considered information on behaviour, personal development, safeguarding and child protection.  There were no children in alternative provision.  We focused deeply on early reading, English, mathematics, science and PE. We visited lessons, looked at pupils’ work, and spoke to subject leaders, teachers and pupils. We also looked at pupils’ work in design and technology, French, history

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Inspection team

Mark Sims, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Helen Quinn Ofsted Inspector 28–29 January 2020

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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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