Kingswood Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Kingswood Primary School Abbey Street, Kingswood, Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire GL12 8RN

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Outcome

Kingswood Primary School continues to be a good school.

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Outcome

However, inspectors have some concerns that standards may be declining as set out below.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud to be a part of this school. The school is a welcoming community which takes good care of its pupils. Pupils behave well and are not worried about bullying because staff help them with any problems they have. They enjoy coming to school and, as a result, attend well. The headteacher cares deeply about the well-being and success of the pupils. School staff share his high aspirations.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The headteacher and staff organise a wide range of enrichment activities for pupils. Pupils and parents value this aspect of the school. A good example of this is pupils’ success in the ‘Take One Picture’ National Gallery competition for two years running. Teachers make lessons more interesting by linking them to the local area. For example, some pupils wrote an article on the war memorial which was then published in a local magazine.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Over time, too many younger pupils have not gained the necessary skills to read well. Leaders have made changes to improve this, but these changes have not yet had an impact. The support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is not strong enough. Some of these pupils receive good support but this is too hit and miss. Leaders do not review plans or the quality of support quickly enough to ensure that pupils’ needs are met well.

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

Leaders have made changes to improve the school, but these have not yet made a big enough difference. The headteacher has set out what should be taught in each subject from Reception to Year 6. However, leaders are still developing this because it does not make clear how teachers should develop pupils’ knowledge across all subjects.

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

Over time, not enough pupils have made a strong start in reading in Reception and key stage 1. The school’s phonics programme has been ineffective in the past and too many 25 February 2020

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pupils have not made good progress. Leaders have identified pupils that need extra help to catch up but this has not happened quickly enough. Recent changes to improve this extra help have not yet made a difference. Some of these pupils catch up during key stage 2 and achieve well in reading. Nevertheless, their weakness in reading makes it more difficult for them to learn other subjects as well as they could.

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Leaders have not assessed the needs of pupils with SEND and planned their support well enough. Systems are not effective enough and are not carried out with enough urgency. Work to help children catch up is not well planned and leaders do not know how effective this work is. This also affects leaders’ work to support other pupils that need to catch up.

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Mathematics is well planned across the school. The curriculum makes clear exactly what pupils will learn in each week, and how this learning builds on previous lessons. This starts in the Reception class and builds progressively to Year 6. Teachers provide resources and diagrams that help pupils to learn. There are frequent opportunities for pupils to practise and to apply their knowledge when reasoning and solving problems. Teachers are careful to provide opportunities for pupils to recall past learning in mathematics to reinforce their understanding. Pupils learn well in mathematics.

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Pupils enjoy the way that teachers make what they are learning in history interesting. For example, they enjoy making a film or pottery. Pupils make a good start to learning history in the Reception class and within the topics they study each year. However, they do not always see the links between the work they are doing now and work they have learned in the past. This is because teachers have not ensured that one topic builds on what pupils have learned in other topics. This prevents them from making strong progress.

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The school provides a broad range of wider curriculum opportunities for all pupils. This includes trips, Forest School, ‘STEAM’ days, whole-class music teaching, competitions and visitors to enhance their learning. These opportunities enable pupils to experience life beyond the school and prepare them well for the future. This is a strength of the school.

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Pupils behave well and feel safe in school. They are not worried about bullying because it rarely happens and is dealt with effectively when it does.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The headteacher and staff know pupils and their families well. They do all they can to ensure that pupils are kept safe. There are good systems in place to check this work. The processes for checks on the suitability of staff are carried out effectively. Governors are vigilant in ensuring that these checks are carried out. Staff know when and how they should report any concerns. When concerns do occur, leaders follow up well. Pupils have a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe, including when using devices to go online. Staff are well trained and have the interests of pupils at heart. 25 February 2020

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Phonics teaching and support has not been effective enough in the past, particularly for pupils who have fallen behind the school’s phonics programme. Leaders have not put in place support for those pupils that need to catch up quickly enough. Leaders have recently changed both the phonics programme and the interventions used to support pupils. Leaders should continue to implement these changes quickly and rigorously so that phonics is taught effectively, pupils catch up and achieve well.  Pupils with SEND do not achieve as well as they should. Leaders are not using accurate information about what pupils know, can do and understand to inform their work. Leaders must strengthen the systems for assessing, planning and the monitoring of support for pupils with SEND. Leaders should monitor all interventions carefully and adjust provision quickly if it is not effective.  Leaders have a planned programme of curriculum development. In some subjects, the

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

curriculum does yet make clear how pupils’ skills and knowledge should develop over a sequence of learning. This reduces pupils’ progress. Leaders should ensure that learning each subject is well sequenced so that pupils know more and remember more.

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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 or non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence 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 school to be good on 14–15 January 2016.

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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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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 . 25 February 2020

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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. 25 February 2020

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Mrs Holly Simkiss

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School details

Website www.kingswoodprimaryschool.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 14–15 January 2016, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Kingswood Primary School is a smaller than average-sized school with mixed-age classes.  The headteacher has been in post since before the last inspection.  There is a breakfast and after-school club on site which is managed separately.  The governing body has a full complement of governors and organises its work through three committees.

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Information about this inspection

 During the inspection we spoke with pupils, teachers and other school staff. The lead inspector met a group of school governors and spoke with a representative from the local authority.  A range of school documentation was considered, including leaders’ development plans, curriculum documents and safeguarding information.  The lead inspector considered responses to Ofsted’s questionnaire, Parent View. He also considered responses to the staff and pupil survey. 25 February 2020

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 The team conducted deep dives in reading, mathematics and history. As part of these deep dives we interviewed leaders, visited lessons, reviewed curriculum information, examined pupils’ work, and had discussions with pupils, teachers and teaching assistants.

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Inspection team

Tom Morrison, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Faye Bertham Ofsted Inspector 25 February 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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