Kingshill Church School

Inspection of a good school: Kingshill Church School Pound Lane, Nailsea, Somerset BS48 2NP

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Outcome

Kingshill Church School continues to be a good school.

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Outcome

The headteacher of this school is Lisa Harvey. This school is part of the Bath and Wells Multi Academy Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Nikki Edwards, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Oliver Cofler.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and safe at Kingshill Church School. The school supports them to be ‘ready, respectful and safe’. Relationships are positive. Adults know pupils well. Pupils use the ‘worry box’ to share concerns with adults.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel valued. The school supports families to ensure that pupils attend well. Many pupils join at different points in the school year. They settle in quickly and are made to feel welcome.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations of pupils. This begins in Reception Year, where children know and understand class routines. In lessons, pupils are eager to share their ideas. They have positive attitudes to learning. Adults support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities well. These pupils well access learning alongside their peers and contribute to class discussions. Adults manage behaviour effectively so that pupils learn without disruption.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The offer for pupils’ wider development is carefully designed by the school. Opportunities for pupils to showcase and celebrate their work bring the community together. Pupils are proud of the leadership roles the school offers them. This includes making decisions for the school council and organising visitors to school to talk about environmental issues.

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

The school and trust are ambitious for all pupils. The new leadership team at the school has brought about recent improvements. Its members are relentless in their drive to secure a high-quality education. The historically weak curriculum design meant that pupils 14 March 2024

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did not learn a well-designed curriculum. This led to weak published outcome for pupils. The school has rectified this. They have identified precisely what they want pupils to know and remember. The curriculum is implemented effectively. As a result, pupils are now progressing well across the curriculum.

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Reading is at the front and centre of the school’s priorities. The school is uncompromising in the importance it places on reading. As soon as children begin in Reception Year, they learn to read. Pupils read books that match the sounds they know. Adults quickly spot pupils who are at risk of falling behind. Swift support helps pupils to catch up quickly. Ongoing coaching ensures that adults are experts in the delivery of the phonics curriculum. The focus on reading continues beyond phonics. Older pupils learn how to understand texts and develop their comprehension knowledge. They read a range of books that help them to understand different cultures and places. Pupils ‘magpie’ ideas from what they read and use it in their writing. Pupils’ understanding of grammar, punctuation and vocabulary supports them to write well.

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The curriculum design supports pupils’ learning well. The granular detail in the curriculum addresses any gaps in pupils’ knowledge and new knowledge builds on what they already know. For example, in Reception Year, children learn to compare two objects using scales. Reception children use ‘heavier’ and ‘lighter’ to describe objects. This knowledge is built on by adding weight to read scales. Year 1 pupils explain the need to keep things equal and use their recall of number bonds to make sure the scales balance. The strong focus on developing pupils’ fluency means that older pupils can complete more complex concepts such as converting mixed numbers into improper fractions. However, in some wider curriculum subjects, the curriculum has had less time to embed. Pupils struggle to remember important knowledge. For example, in geography, pupils’ understanding of countries that make up the United Kingdom and the capital cities of the UK is not secure.

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This makes it more difficult for pupils to build their knowledge.

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Adults and pupils appreciate the school’s work to develop a positive environment for learning. Pupils and staff say that behaviour has much improved. Pupils understand the school’s new behaviour system and staff appreciate the clarity it brings. The number of recorded incidents of poor behaviour has reduced considerably as a result. Pupils’ behaviour during lessons and social times reflects this. Pupils of all ages play well together.

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The personal, social and health education (PSHE) curriculum supports pupils to understand healthy relationships. This begins in Reception Year, where children learn to take turns. Older pupils talk about the importance of honesty and trust in a friendship. The computing curriculum supports pupils to stay safe online. Pupils understand the risks involved when using social media. The school has worked with pupils to better develop their understanding of protected characteristics. Pupils know that discrimination of any kind is unacceptable.

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Pupils learn how to keep themselves physically and mentally healthy. They enjoy the opportunity to be calm and reflective in PSHE lessons. Pupils are proud to represent the school in local football tournaments. Trips in and around the local area enrich pupils’ learning cross the curriculum. 14 March 2024

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Over time, pupils have not experienced a well-designed curriculum. As a result, there are gaps in what pupils know and can do. This hinders pupils’ ability to build their knowledge. The trust needs to ensure that the gaps are identified and adapt learning so that pupils know more and remember more across all curriculum subjects.

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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 January 2015.

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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, 14 March 2024

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looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 14 March 2024

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School details

Date of previous inspection 11 April 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of the Bath and Wells Multi Academy Trust.  The headteacher and deputy headteacher started in September 2023.  The school does not use any alternative providers.  There have been many staff changes since the last inspection.

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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: reading, mathematics and art. 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. 14 March 2024

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 Inspectors also discussed the curriculum in some other subjects, including science and geography.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, 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.  The lead inspector listened to pupils in Year 1, 2 and 3 read to an adult.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher, representatives from the local governing board and members of the trust board.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school site.  The inspector considered the responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, and took into consideration responses to the staff and pupil survey.

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Inspection team

Wendy D’Arcy, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Matt Fletcher His Majesty’s Inspector 14 March 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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