Kilnwood Vale Primary School

Inspection of Kilnwood Vale Primary School Calvert Link, Faygate, Horsham, West Sussex RH12 0BZ

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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 Outstanding Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Overall effectiveness Good

The head of school is Laura Burke and the executive headteacher is Jo Newton. This school is part of The GLF Schools Multi-Academy Trust, which means other people in the trust also have a responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Jon Chaloner, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Lynne O’Reilly. 5 and 6 December 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school’s vision to ‘inspire, nurture, enable’ is lived out daily by pupils throughout all aspects of their learning. There is a warm and welcoming environment where pupils keenly greet visitors and share their positive experiences of the education provided.

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What is it like to attend this school?

In lessons and around the school, pupils behave well. They are polite and respectful towards staff and their classmates. Teachers have high expectations of pupils’ conduct. There are well-established routines across the school. Pupils confidently learn both independently and collectively during group work. Trips, visitors and celebrations help pupils learn more about subjects such as history, design technology and religious education. For example, children in the early years enjoyed learning about Diwali recently.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Playtimes are joyous and energetic. Pupils can access a variety of games equipment and sports clubs organised by the ‘play leaders’. As a result, pupils play well together. Any occasional disagreements are sorted out quickly. Pupils trust adults to keep them safe and feel confident in sharing any concerns with their identified trusted adults. These are staff members that pupils can reach out to at any time.

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What is it like to attend this school?

All staff have high expectations for pupils’ academic achievement. The carefully considered curriculum helps all pupils, including children in the early years, to get off to a flying start to their educational journey.

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better?

Since the school opened in 2019, there has been a continued focus on ensuring pupils learn and achieve. The ongoing improvements in the curriculum reflect the school’s high aspirations that begin in early years. Staff are well supported through professional development that is thoughtfully planned in collaboration with the trust. This helps to build staff’s expertise and knowledge in teaching the well-sequenced and highly ambitious curriculum effectively, across most subject areas.

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better?

Children benefit from exceptionally planned learning activities in the Nursery. This prepares them well for their next stages of school. Careful thought has been given to how learning builds over time. Leaders in each phase are clear about the knowledge that pupils need to gain in most subjects, and in what order. Pupils are expertly supported by teachers, who ensure that learning is adapted to individual needs. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, get the help they need at the right time. This is evident in subjects such as mathematics, and is reflected in how well children in early years can recognise and use number.

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better?

In some subjects, however, the changes to the curriculum are still new. This means pupils have gaps in knowledge which are not always identified as quickly as they need to be. The achievement of some pupils at the end of key stage 1 reflects the 5 and 6 December 2023

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need for the changes that are now being put in place. Current pupils are getting the help they need to catch up and learn well.

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The school has prioritised the teaching of reading. Teachers begin this work as soon as children join the school. Staff continue to receive excellent training and have all the resources they need to teach early reading effectively. The school checks pupils’ progress rigorously. Pupils who find learning to read more difficult get the help they need. Children eagerly listen to adults who read to them throughout the day. In Nursery, children select a variety of books from the ‘book nook’ for adults to read and immerse them in.

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The school has a calm and purposeful feel throughout the school day. The youngest children in the Nursery know the expectations around helping to tidy up, taking turns and sharing. Children in the Reception class engage in activities with enthusiasm. Routines are exceptionally well embedded in Reception and adults help pupils to manage behaviour across the school well.

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Pupils are well-known by staff. This ensures that pupils get the help they need to learn positively. Staff use appropriate processes and systems to help pupils attend school regularly and on time. There is a small minority of pupils, however, who could attend school more often than they currently do. The school is rightly working to improve the attendance of these pupils so that they do not miss out on any learning.

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Staff teach pupils about relationships and inclusivity throughout the curriculum. Pupils are highly accepting of differences and understand why they should treat each other well. They relish the chance to take on leadership roles. Beyond the curriculum, there is a wide range of clubs for pupils to take part in. Pupils value the positive recognition they receive through the school house system. The rewards culture helps pupils to recognise their part in creating a positive learning environment.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The full implementation of the curriculum in some of the subjects is not yet fully consistent. Some teachers do not yet have the full subject expertise to confidently teach the important knowledge. Consequently, they are then less able to check how pupils’ understanding builds over time. The school is aware of this and should continue to monitor the impact of their planned improvements to ensure that pupils’ knowledge is secure. 5 and 6 December 2023

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 Some pupils are not yet attending school as regularly as they should. As a result, they are missing out on vital learning. The school should continue to strengthen its actions to support the improvement in the attendance of these pupils.

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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’ is used to mean pupils with 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, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 5 and 6 December 2023

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School details

Headteacher Laura Burke (head of school) and Jo Newton (executive headteacher) Website www.kilnwoodvaleschool.org

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School details

Dates of previous inspection Not previous inspected

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Information about this school

 The school is part of the GLF Schools Multi-Academy Trust and first opened in September 2019.  The school has a nursery provision for two- and three-year-old children.  The school currently uses one registered alternative provider.

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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

Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.

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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. 5 and 6 December 2023

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 The school has an executive headteacher who is responsible for the school and a head of school who leads the day-to-day management of the school.  During this inspection, inspectors held meetings with the executive headteacher, head of school, teachers, support staff and pupils.  The lead inspector met with members of the governing body, including the chair of governors and the chair of the trust board. She also had a meeting with the chief executive officer and other leaders from the trust.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, design technology, history and music. In each subject, inspectors met with subject leaders, talked to pupils, visited lessons, spoke to teachers and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The lead inspector listened to some pupils read to adults. Other aspects of the school’s curriculum were also considered.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors reviewed the single

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central record; took account of the views of 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.  The inspection team took account of a range of other information, including the school’s development plans, school policies and minutes of governors’ and trustees’ meetings.  Inspectors considered the responses to the Ofsted Parent View questionnaire and the free-text comments that were submitted. They also took account of the responses to the confidential staff survey and gathered the views of both staff and pupils throughout the inspection.

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Inspection team

Numera Anwar, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Lesley Fisher-Pink Ofsted Inspector 5 and 6 December 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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