Katesgrove Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Katesgrove Primary School Dorothy Street, Reading, Berkshire RG1 2NL

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Outcome

Katesgrove Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a school with a smile on its face. Pupils genuinely love their school. Staff are proud and committed to their work. Their expectations are high. Deep-rooted compassion and a clear understanding of the barriers that some pupils face do not hinder the drive to ensure that every pupil thrives and achieves well across the curriculum.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils talk about their work proudly. Classrooms are productive places, though pupils are clear that learning can happen anywhere and anytime. Those from vulnerable backgrounds are supported well. Children in early years make solid progress because of the expertise of staff.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe. They told inspectors that poor behaviour is not an issue for them, though they wished some people would leave the library tidier. Pupils agree that bullying is rare and that any instances of ‘drama’ are dealt with quickly by staff.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Inspectors’ discussions with pupils revealed interesting and varied insights into how they feel about their school. Their reasoned arguments that physical education (PE) should happen every day received mixed responses within one group, as did opening the school through the holidays. However, initiatives such as the recent ‘danger day’, where pupils experienced ‘safe’ but challenging activities, were met with unanimous approval.

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

Leaders at all levels, including those in positions of governance, have a strong vision for the school. A deep moral purpose underpins all that happens here. Preparing all pupils for life after Katesgrove is never far from everyone’s mind, including for those pupils who do not stay until the end of Year 6. Staff collectively understand that pupils need to achieve well academically. They also know that pupils’ social and emotional development and sense of belonging in this vibrant, multicultural and diverse community, is equally important. 3 and 4 October 2023

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The school’s curriculum is ever evolving. Leaders are committed to continuous improvement. They are not scared to make changes when they need to. They acknowledge that more work needs to be done to refine the curriculum offer in geography and PE, for instance. Questions are constantly being asked about how relevant the content of subjects are, especially when the school’s diverse ethnic mix is considered.

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Staff adapt their teaching well, including in the moment, to support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The school has effective strategies, including the use of pupil interpreters, to support pupils who speak English as an additional language. Staff are skilled at identifying pupils who need additional support. This is especially the case with pupils who are struggling to read. They are also adept at identifying pupils new to the school, who may need extra support linked to additional needs other than their language barriers.

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Preparing pupils for life in modern Britain is done well. The school is responsive to the cultural sensitivities in the community. Well-considered approaches to ensuring that pupils learn about diversity and equalities are in place. Relationships, sex and health education is delivered in an age-appropriate way. Pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds are also targeted, so that they benefit from the school’s work to promote fundamental British values. This includes membership of the school’s unique mini-police or junior-leaders teams.

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The school’s mathematics and English curriculum are working well. Pupils enjoy their mathematics lessons because staff plan and deliver their teaching effectively. This includes in Nursery and Reception, where children are prepared well across all areas and requirements of the early years foundation stage before their eventual move to Year 1.

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The school is particularly successful at teaching children to read. Older pupils experience a wide range of texts before they leave the school. They readily identified the books and/or authors they have enjoyed in the past, as well as those they had not, when talking to the lead inspector. Children in Reception and pupils in key stage 1 benefit from the relentless and consistent approach from staff delivering the school’s phonics programme. Despite the evident success in all aspects of teaching pupils to read, the school’s current focus on developing oracy across all phases of the school is well founded.

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The school’s work to ensure that pupils attend regularly and on time has a high profile. Staff are proactive and use many strategies to reduce absence. Additional staff capacity has been created to tackle this problem. However, absence, particularly persistent absence, is too high. All in the school community, including parents and carers, need to work harder to address this burning issue if all pupils are to reap the benefits on offer at this good and improving school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 3 and 4 October 2023

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some foundation subjects, curriculum plans do not define precisely enough the knowledge leaders want pupils to know and remember. Sometimes, staff are not clear about the key knowledge pupils need to be taught. This means that pupils are learning but not as deeply as they might. Where this is the case, leaders need to refine schemes of work further to give total clarity around what key knowledge they want pupils to know and remember as they move through the curriculum year on year.  Some pupils do not attend school as often as they should. Rates of persistent absence are too high. Leaders need to redouble their efforts to address this issue, so that all pupils enjoy the good quality of education and care the school provides.

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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 school to be good in November 2017.

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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’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, 3 and 4 October 2023

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looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 3 and 4 October 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Headteacher Lisa Telling (Executive headteacher)

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School details

Website www.katesgroveprimaryschool.co.uk

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 12 November 2020, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of The Kennet Federation of Katesgrove and Southcote Primary Schools. Both schools are led by a shared executive headteacher, who is supported by a dedicated head of school in each school. The schools also share some key staff in leadership, teaching and pastoral roles.  Governance is provided by a federation governing body (The Governing Body of the Kennet Federation).  The school has a large proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language. The percentage of pupils who either join or leave the school throughout the school year is well above average.  The school recently formalised arrangements with the local authority for a specially resourced provision for pupils with SEND (specially resourced provision), which opened at the start of this school year. This caters for up to 10 pupils with complex cognition, learning and communication and interaction needs.  The school currently uses two unregistered alternative providers.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  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 held a wide range of meetings with leaders at all levels, as well as teaching and support staff.  The lead inspector met with the chair of the federated governing body accompanied by two other governors. He also met with two representatives of the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, PE and geography. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The lead inspector also carried out a

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Information about this inspection

learning walk in the school’s specially resourced provision. Inspectors also discussed the curriculum in some other subjects.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of parents, leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors gathered evidence to explore the impact of pupils’ behaviour, the school’s wider curriculum offer and how leaders support staff with their workload.  Pupils were talked to throughout the inspection to gain their views about the school. Inspectors considered the views of parents submitted through Ofsted Parent View. The views of staff and pupils were also considered through Ofsted’s surveys.

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Inspection team

Clive Close, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Sara Staggs His Majesty’s Inspector 3 and 4 October 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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