Keston Church of England Primary School

Inspection of Keston Church of England Primary School Lakes Road, Keston, Kent BR2 6BN

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Inspection dates: 24 and 25 January 2024

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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 Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

The headteacher of this school is Julia Evison. This school is part of Aquinas Church of England Academies Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Kathy Griffiths, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Giles Lambert. 24 and 25 January 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy, well cared for and enjoy attending this school. Staff know the pupils very well and provide support swiftly when needed. This helps pupils to feel safe and to be kept safe at school. Parents and carers are overwhelmingly positive about the school. Staff are proud to be members of this warm and welcoming community.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is ambitious for all pupils. Pupils are eager to attend school and take part positively in learning. Classrooms are calm, inviting spaces, including in the early years. Routines are well established, which helps pupils to focus on their learning. Reading is at the heart of the school’s curriculum, which supports pupils to achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school makes sure that pupils behave well. Pupils are polite and kind. They are encouraged to help others and are taught to understand how to be good citizens. For example, older pupils are ‘buddies’ to younger pupils, which fosters positive relationships. Staff promote the school’s values, including friendship and trust.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils value the opportunities that support their wider development. This includes a range of clubs such as coding, dance, choir and football. Pupils visit local places of worship and the Isle of Wight.

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better?

The school has developed a broad and ambitious curriculum. In most subjects, the important knowledge and skills that the school expects pupils to learn and remember have been carefully planned. The learning is well sequenced, ensuring pupils return to prior learning regularly. This helps pupils to practise key skills so that they can tackle more complex concepts. For example, in mathematics, pupils explore indices with increasing complexity before moving on to inverse indices.

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better?

Teachers’ subject knowledge is a strength. Staff are highly skilled and very positive about the regular training they receive in school and from the trust. Teachers are knowledgeable about how pupils learn. Learning is adapted so that all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), access the same ambitious curriculum. Teachers typically check what pupils know and can do well. The school is very well resourced, which ensures learning is creative, including in the early years. For example, pupils have access to a local outdoor area, which promotes curiosity and physical development in the early years.

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better?

In a small number of curriculum areas, including in the early years, the knowledge, skills and vocabulary pupils are expected to learn have not been explicitly identified. This limits the checking of what pupils know and can do. This limits pupils’ deeper learning and development in these subjects. 24 and 25 January 2024

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The school’s approach to teaching reading is highly developed. Staff are all trained to be experts in teaching phonics. Reading is promoted daily across the school. Parents are very positive about the support they receive to help their child in the early stages of reading. Rich texts extend pupils’ vocabulary and lead to strong outcomes in reading and writing. Carefully selected texts also help pupils to explore themes of diversity. In the early years, this helps children to understand the world around them. Where pupils need additional support to catch up and keep up with their reading, the school uses targeted help. For instance, highly skilled staff read regularly with pupils.

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Behaviour in lessons and around the school is calm. Most pupils’ attendance is strong. Where necessary, the school is providing effective support to help improve attendance for some pupils. Pupils concentrate well in lessons and are respectful of others. Pupils with SEND are well supported through support plans to meet the behaviour expectations set. The school encourages pupils to use ‘zones of regulation’, which promotes their emotional well-being.

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The school provides pupils with a carefully planned curriculum focused on their personal development. Pupils learn how to be healthy, travel safely and develop first-aid skills. Pupils are very positive about the clubs available to them and enjoy the trips on offer.

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Staff are proud to work at this school. They feel very well supported by the school and trust leaders. Workload is well managed, and staff well-being is a priority.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a small number of subjects, including in the early years, the school has not fully identified the key knowledge and skills pupils must learn to ensure their readiness for their next stage. This means that, sometimes, the key vocabulary, knowledge and skills that the school intends pupils to know are not explicitly taught. The school should ensure that the precise knowledge, skills and vocabulary they want pupils to know and remember are set out clearly.  In a few subjects where new schemes have been recently implemented, summative assessment systems are not fully embedded. This limits the school’s oversight of gaps in pupils’ learning. The school should ensure that assessment in all subjects enables it to have a clear oversight of any gaps in pupils’ learning so that these can be addressed effectively. 24 and 25 January 2024

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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 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, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 24 and 25 January 2024

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 26 and 27 September 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this school

 The school is part of the Aquinas Church of England Academies Trust.  There school use no alternative provision.

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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.  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 carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, history and physical education. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with teachers, spoke with 24 and 25 January 2024

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some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of their work. Inspectors also considered the curriculum in other subjects.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single 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.  Inspectors considered responses to Ofsted’s online surveys for parents, staff and pupils.

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Inspection team

Sophie Cavanagh, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Kieran Bird His Majesty’s Inspector 24 and 25 January 2024

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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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