King's Academy Prospect

Inspection of King’s Academy Prospect Cockney Hill, Tilehurst, Reading, Berkshire RG30 4EX

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Outstanding Sixth-form provision Good Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 4 and 5 October 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are aspirational and rightly optimistic about their futures. Leaders set high expectations for pupils’ learning, behaviour and wider development, which are routinely put into practice. Staff make sure that pupils’ best interests are at the heart of all that they do. Staff look after pupils well and make sure they are safe. Pupils’ achievement is good overall across all year groups, including in the sixth form. They receive very effective support and guidance which helps them make informed, positive choices about what they do when they leave school. Pupils are, therefore, prepared well for the next stages in their lives.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils learn to be respectful and responsible. Most pupils enjoy school and are kind to each other. Bullying is not a major issue. Pupils recognise the diversity of their community, valuing the differences between people’s backgrounds. Many pupils take on leadership roles, such as house captains or ‘anti-bullying’ ambassadors, which make a substantial contribution to the life of the school. Older pupils coach younger pupils’ learning effectively. Sixth-form ‘student leaders’ contribute to key aspects of the school, for example through further developing support for pupils’ mental health. The majority of pupils are committed to the school’s very positive culture.

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better?

Leaders’ highly effective work means this is a good and strongly improving school. Leaders are focused fully on making sure that all pupils achieve their best. They design and put in place strong processes that underpin the school’s success. Teachers are able to concentrate on making sure pupils get a good education. Staff morale is high and they are supported well. Leaders provide teachers with the right training, which has a very positive impact in classrooms.

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better?

The curriculum is ambitious and designed to include all pupils. Subject leaders support teachers well to teach pupils the right knowledge at the right time. They also make sure teachers have secure subject expertise. Key stage 3 is strong. Pupils in key stage 4 study a wide range of subjects and the proportion of pupils taking the English Baccalaureate is rising rapidly to very high levels. The growing sixth form offers a variety of subjects and qualifications, providing students with options that match both their needs and aspirations. In a number of subjects, teachers use well- designed, substantial tasks throughout the year that deepen and consolidate pupils’ learning. In some subjects, however, this is not as well established.

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better?

Leaders make sure that pupils get the right help when they need it, prioritising the development of pupils’ reading and writing. Support for pupils whose reading is weaker is especially effective. Provision for pupils who speak English as an additional language is very strong indeed. While pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) achieve well overall, this is a little variable. Many receive exactly what they require in lessons, but some pupils with SEND could achieve more. This is 4 and 5 October 2022

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because the support they get is not as precisely matched to their needs as it could be.

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The vast majority of pupils behave well, attend regularly and are proud of their school. Most concentrate extremely productively in lessons, although some lose focus occasionally. Teachers manage pupils’ behaviour by following the clear, strong systems in place. Leaders take the right action to raise individual pupils’ attendance when necessary. Pupils and staff recognise how much behaviour has improved since the last inspection. However, there are occasional instances of some pupils using discriminatory or derogatory language. There is also a very small minority of pupils who cause trouble by behaving antisocially at breaktimes. These incidents are infrequent and leaders deal with them swiftly. Such behaviour is not tolerated by either staff or pupils.

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Pupils’ personal development is strong throughout the school, particularly so in the sixth form. Sixth-form students play an important part in school life, acting as mentors and role models for younger pupils. Pupils learn about a range of aspects of healthy living and relationships which prepare them well for modern life. Many subjects, such as English, make a strong contribution to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding. While there are good quality extra-curricular activities on offer, pupils’ participation rates are relatively low.

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Trustees and local governors have strong expertise, maintaining tight oversight of the school’s work. They monitor and evaluate the impact of leaders’ actions accurately. While recognising the school’s many successes and improvements over the last two years, they have also set high expectations for the future. They make sure that processes for managing staff workload and well-being are in place and working very well. The trust has challenged school leaders robustly and provided effective support.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Safeguarding leaders are appropriately qualified and staff have up-to-date knowledge about safeguarding risks. This means any issues are identified quickly and accurately. Leaders make sure the right help and support is put in place for pupils, liaising with other agencies well. Actions are recorded appropriately. Trustees and governors monitor this aspect of the school’s work closely, checking that policies and processes are working effectively. Leaders make the right checks on staff before they start working at the school. Pupils are knowledgeable about how to keep themselves safe, including online and in the community, because they are taught about this. 4 and 5 October 2022

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Adaptations to teaching to support pupils with SEND are not consistently effective. Although pupils with SEND learn well overall, some could achieve more. Leaders and teachers should make sure that provision is matched precisely to pupils’ needs.  Key assessment tasks do not help pupils consolidate their knowledge as well in some subjects as they do in others. This means pupils’ learning is not as deep and secure as it could be. Leaders should ensure that assessment tasks make an effective contribution to pupils’ learning in all subjects.  Some pupils occasionally use unkind language to others and a very small minority of pupils sometimes cause trouble at breaktimes. While other pupils do not accept this kind of behaviour, it causes them to be offended or upset. Leaders should continue their work to eliminate any use of derogatory or discriminatory language and all antisocial behaviour.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View 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. 4 and 5 October 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10241524 Type of school Secondary comprehensive

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provision

Number of pupils on the school roll 1,020

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sixth form

Date of previous inspection 30 April and 1 May 2019

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Information about this school

 The school is part of King’s Group Academies, a multi-academy trust. It joined the trust in October 2020 when the school was already a stand-alone academy converter.  The school currently uses three alternative providers.  The school meets the requirements of the Baker Clause, which requires schools to provide pupils in Years 8 to 13 with information about approved technical education qualifications and apprenticeships.  Nearly one third of pupils speak English as an additional language, which is well above average.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils who attend the school is also well above average, as is the proportion of pupils with SEND who have an education, health and care plan. 4 and 5 October 2022

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, assistant headteachers and other leaders such as the special educational needs coordinator.  The lead inspector met with the chief executive officer and director of academy improvement for King’s Group Academies. He also met with two trustees and two local governors, including the chair of the local governing body.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: English, mathematics, geography, art and history. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with the subject leader, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at a sample of pupils’ work.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour around the school and in lessons. Inspectors met with groups of pupils and spoke to a range of pupils in and outside of lessons. Inspectors also took into account pupils’ responses to the Ofsted pupil survey.  To inspect safeguarding, inspectors checked the single central record of recruitment checks, talked to leaders responsible for safeguarding and looked at the school’s safeguarding records and documents. Inspectors also talked to a range of staff and pupils about safeguarding. Additionally, the lead inspector explored how trustees and local governors oversee this aspect of the school’s work.  A range of the school’s documentation was scrutinised, including leaders’ evaluations of the effectiveness of the school, information about pupils’ behaviour and attendance, and the school’s improvement plan.  Inspectors met with members of staff to discuss the school’s work and considered

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Information about this inspection

responses to the confidential Ofsted staff survey. They also looked at parents’ responses to the online questionnaire, Ofsted Parent View.

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Inspection team

Matthew Haynes, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Tom Neave Ofsted Inspector 4 and 5 October 2022

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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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