Kew Woods Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Kew Woods Primary School Ovington Drive, Southport, Merseyside PR8 6JW

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Outcome

Kew Woods Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), learn and achieve well. They gain important knowledge in different subjects. Pupils develop eager interest in their learning. They are polite, kind and sensible. Pupils blossom because leaders and staff want the best for them.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Starting in the Nursery, children learn many essential new words to use in general conversation and about different subjects. They learn through the very helpful, back-and- forth talk that staff develop. In each class, pupils are enthused by words, stories and books because teachers value these aspects of teaching the curriculum.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy their time at the school. They are happy and settled. Pupils said that they feel safe and make many friends. Pupils know that leaders deal with issues of bullying effectively, including any incidents that arise online outside of school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils take part in a wide range of activities that enhance their wider development. For instance, they benefit from learning in a special classroom, immersed in video footage of places locally and further afield. Pupils’ learning is enriched through contributing to creative performances, including those with lighting, sound, set design and costumes. They profit from attending a wide range of popular clubs, such as chess, mathematics and bench ball.

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

Leaders’ clear thinking has, in the main, enabled them to establish an ambitious curriculum suited to the needs of different pupils. In most subjects, leaders have carefully considered what they want pupils to know and be able to do. They ensure that staff build on the knowledge that children gain in the early years. They make certain that teachers prepare pupils for their future learning. In a few foundation subjects, leaders’ work to identify the essential knowledge that they want pupils to learn is less well developed. This 13 and 14 March 2023

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means that some of pupils’ knowledge is less comprehensive. Leaders are in the process of fine-tuning these curriculums further.

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Leaders provide teachers with helpful advice and guidance about subject curriculums. Teachers adeptly deliver leaders’ intended curriculum. They skilfully use assessment strategies to support pupils’ grasp of curriculum content. Staff revisit key learning with pupils, in lessons and in subsequent units of work, to build pupils’ understanding.

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Leaders make certain that staff identify the needs of pupils with SEND promptly and accurately. Teachers ensure that pupils with SEND learn the same curriculum as other pupils. Staff adapt their delivery of the curriculum to help all pupils to know and remember key concepts and information.

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Pupils achieve well. They develop increasingly secure knowledge of different subjects, including subject-specific language. Pupils leave Kew Woods confident and ready to continue their education at secondary school.

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Leaders provide staff with regular training and support to ensure that they know how to support pupils’ reading effectively. Teachers and teaching assistants follow leaders’ chosen phonics programme in their teaching. Staff make certain that pupils experience success as readers, for instance through using reading books that match the sounds that they already know. Leaders have recently strengthened staff’s work to support pupils who find phonics more difficult. This approach helps these pupils to master the basics of reading more quickly and securely.

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Leaders and teachers inspire pupils about language and reading, including through regular opportunities for pupils to meet with poets and authors. High-quality conversation is a regular feature of lessons. Staff select books and poems by a diverse range of authors and poets to read to pupils, including in early years. Staff use stories and factual books to expose pupils to new language and contexts beyond their own experience.

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Throughout the school, low-level disruption to pupils’ learning is brief. Because pupils give focused attention to what leaders and staff say, teachers can teach.

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Staff help pupils to become responsible citizens, for instance as members of the eco- council or as play leaders. Pupils who spoke with the inspector were very well informed about their global responsibilities for the planet. Staff help pupils to respect differences between people, such as through celebrating International Women’s Day. Staff sensitively teach pupils of the need in wider society to counter any dislike and prejudice towards girls and women.

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Leaders, governors and trustees hold a comprehensive knowledge of the strengths and priorities for improving the school. They use this knowledge well to refine the school’s work.

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Staff working at the school feel happy in their roles. They said that leaders take action to reduce their workload. Leaders provide staff with access to regular training, up-to-date research and advice from experts in different subjects and key stages of education. 13 and 14 March 2023

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders keep themselves and staff well informed and up to date about safeguarding risks to pupils. Leaders and staff are highly vigilant and record safeguarding information carefully. They act without delay to ensure that pupils receive the support that they need at school and from other agencies.

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Safeguarding

Leaders, governors and trustees review safeguarding arrangements carefully, including reviewing arrangements that ensure pupils’ online safety.

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Safeguarding

Staff teach pupils how to keep themselves safe, including how to respect other people’s bodies and personal space. Pupils said that they can confide their worries in trusted adults at the school. Pupils also learn that they can contact Childline with their concerns.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a few foundation subjects, leaders have not identified the essential component knowledge that they want pupils to learn. This means that it is more difficult for pupils to learn all the intended curriculum. Leaders should ensure that all curriculum subjects are equally well thought out so that pupils learn as much as they can.

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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 an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the predecessor school, Kew Woods Primary School, to be good in July 2013. 13 and 14 March 2023

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How can I feed back my views?

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. 13 and 14 March 2023

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school is part of the Southport Learning Trust.  Kew Woods Primary School became an academy school in April 2019. When its predecessor school, Kew Woods Primary School, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be good overall.  Leaders use one alternative provision for pupils.  Leaders provide a breakfast club and after-school club for pupils.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and has taken that into account in his evaluation of the school.  The inspector completed deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and geography. He met with subject leaders, visited lessons, including in the early years, reviewed pupils’ work and spoke with staff and pupils.  The inspector listened to some pupils from Years 1 to 3 reading individually to staff. He spoke with some pupils about their reading. 13 and 14 March 2023

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 The inspector met with pupils to ask about behaviour, bullying and their education. He also considered the 321 responses from pupils to an Ofsted survey.  The inspector met with groups of staff and asked about their workload and well-being. He considered responses from staff to an Ofsted survey.  The inspector reviewed responses to Ofsted Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey, including the free-text responses. The inspector spoke with some parents and carers.  To evaluate safeguarding, the inspector considered the views of pupils and parents. He also reviewed examples of action by leaders and staff to keep pupils safe. The inspector reviewed leaders’ checks made on the suitability of adults at the school.  The inspector held meetings with the chief executive officer of the academy trust, the chair and vice-chair of trustees and three members of the local governing board.  The inspector spoke with an officer from the local authority.

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 The inspector considered a range of leaders’ documents, including examples of policies, reviews of the school’s work and leaders’ priorities for improvement.

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Inspection team

Tim Vaughan, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 13 and 14 March 2023

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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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