Kingsnorth Church of England Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Kingsnorth Church of England Primary School Church Hill, Kingsnorth, Ashford, Kent TN23 3EF

p.1

Outcome

Kingsnorth Church of England Primary School continues to be a good school. The Executive Headteacher of this school is Iain Witts. This school is part of Aquila - Diocese of Canterbury 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, Annie Wiles, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Sue Butterworth.

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe and part of a caring community. They trust adults in school and feel appreciated in a purposeful and happy environment. A growing proportion of pupils who are disadvantaged now attend Kingsnorth. The school has carefully adapted the provision to support these pupils’ needs. As a result, all pupils feel welcomed and confident that adults and other pupils care and understand them. One pupil told the inspector, ‘I see myself in what we learn.’ The well-rounded experience of the curriculum and support means that pupils usually achieve well across the curriculum.

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

The school’s offer beyond the academic is well considered. Pupils work to embody the ideal of the ‘Kingsnorth pupil’ and aspire to be ‘ Interactive, Investigative, and Inclusive’ . Experiences such as the choir’s regular public performances include and prioritise disadvantaged pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils are passionate about these opportunities.

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

Playtimes have a joyous atmosphere. Significant changes have been made to the provision at playtimes, and pupils’ views have been instrumental in planning this. As a result, pupils take responsibility for their conduct and rise to the school’s high expectations. The behaviour of pupils in classes is impeccable, and they behave with kindness and inclusivity.

p.1

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

The curriculum is carefully designed. The school has precisely identified the key knowledge and skills pupils learn from Reception onwards. Staff routinely check pupils’ learning and use this information to adjust the order of what is taught. For example, staff have changed how pupils learn about Islam in religious education (RE) to ensure they 23 and 24 April 2024

p.1

2

remember more content over time. The school has designed the curriculum to work towards clear endpoints that prepare pupils for the following stages of education. Staff use well-considered systems to identify pupils with potential SEND and quickly adapt the curriculum to support them.

p.2

2

Staff have had high-quality training. They understand what they must teach and how to make this accessible to all pupils. However, in some lessons, the activity choices are not precise enough. The key knowledge that pupils need is not always presented clearly, which means they do not remember it well enough. The school has made significant changes to its approach to teaching disadvantaged pupils. It is now sharply focused on supporting them and their achievements. However, the low numbers of disadvantaged pupils do not yet achieve as well as other pupils by the end of key stage 2.

p.2

2

From Reception onwards, staff follow an effective reading programme. Pupils achieve highly in phonics compared to the national average. All staff are well trained to teach phonics, which ensures a high level of consistency. Pupils remember and apply their sounds with confidence and read books that closely match the sounds they have learned. Pupils proudly make links between different authors and types of books that reflect their rich reading experience. The school works well with parents to promote reading at home. One parent reflected that parent workshops ‘had made reading with my child a pleasure, not a chore’.

p.2

2

Pupils are polite and considerate. They are taught how to treat others and themselves with kindness. Staff are consistent and fair, and pupils recognise and appreciate this throughout the school. The school has made thoughtful changes to routines, which have supported pupils with SEND to make friends and feel like they belong to the school’s wider community. The pupil ‘play rangers’ are enthusiastic about their role and make a positive difference to playtime conduct and enjoyment. Pupils’ attendance exceeds the national average, and they are rarely late. Consequently, pupils do not miss out on learning, are positive about behaviour and feel safe at school.

p.2

2

The school is passionate about pupils’ well-being. It offers a broad range of activities and opportunities to support pupils beyond academic learning, some of which have been carefully chosen to support pupils with any disadvantage. Pupils have a strong sense of right and wrong. They have a deep understanding of other perspectives, faiths and life experiences from trips to differing places of worship and carefully chosen stories from different cultures. Pupils and staff are fluent in the school’s values and strive to exemplify them. As a result, pupils are kind and well-informed about life beyond Kingsnorth.

p.2

2

Leaders at all levels are passionate about pupils’ achievements. Governors and trustees are knowledgeable and hold school leaders to account. Staff feel well supported and appreciate the school’s care for their time and well-being. The school works closely with parents to promote pupils’ welfare and education. This means the school has a clear sense of unity as it continues to refine and strengthen its education for all pupils.

p.2

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 23 and 24 April 2024

p.2

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The curriculum is not yet consistently implemented. This means that not all pupils, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, achieve as well as they could. The school must support staff to present new knowledge and skills precisely and to refine tasks so that pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, are sharply focused on learning the most important content so they achieve equally highly across the curriculum.

p.3

Background

When we have judged 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.

p.3

Background

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the predecessor school, Kingsnorth Church of England Primary School, to be good in September 2012.

p.3

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.

p.3

How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

p.3

Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

p.3

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). 23 and 24 April 2024

p.3

School details

Date of previous inspection 13 October 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

p.4

Information about this school

 The school has been part of the Aquila, The Diocese of Canterbury Academies Trust since October 2018.  This is a Church of England school and is in the Diocese of Canterbury. Its last section 48 inspection education was in June 2018.  The school does not currently use alternative provision.

p.4

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. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the executive headteacher and other members of the leadership team. 23 and 24 April 2024

p.4

5

 The inspector also met with members of the local governing body and a representative from the diocese and multi-academy trust.  The inspector carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics and RE. For each deep dive, the inspector 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 inspector observed pupils’ behaviour around the school and in lessons. The inspector also spoke to pupils in lessons and during play and lunchtime.  The inspector considered a range of documents, including leaders’ evaluations of the school, the school improvement plan and minutes of governor and trustee meetings.  The inspector gathered evidence to explore the impact of pupils’ behaviour, the school’s wider curriculum offer and how leaders support staff with their workload.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector reviewed the single central

p.5

5

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 inspector spoke to parents and considered their responses to Ofsted Parent View.  The inspector took account of the views of staff through conversations and the responses to the online staff survey.  Pupils were talked to throughout the inspection to gain their views about the school. The views of pupils were also considered through Ofsted’s survey.

p.5

Inspection team

Toby Martlew, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 23 and 24 April 2024

p.5

6

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.

p.6

6

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

p.6

6

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/ , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.6

6

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.6

6

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.6