Killingholme Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Killingholme Primary School School Road, South Killingholme, North Lincs, Lincolnshire DN40 3HX

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Outcome

Killingholme Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is an inclusive and caring school. The school has high expectations of pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). It has successfully promoted the importance of pupils attending school regularly. Pupils know that being at school every day helps them to learn. They enjoy coming to school. They like finding out about new things and being with their friends. Pupils’ positive engagement with their learning, and with their school life, is reflected in their behaviour in class and outside. Pupils are polite and courteous. They move around school calmly. Staff ensure that they are available to speak to parents and carers at the end of the day. Parents value this. It contributes to the school’s nurturing and friendly atmosphere.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school provides a range of opportunities to develop pupils’ leadership skills. Playtime buddies effectively support younger pupils at breaktimes and lunchtimes to use new equipment and play games. Pupils proudly showed inspectors how they have been mastering different skipping techniques. Pupil subject ambassadors speak passionately about their roles and how it supports pupils’ learning. Pupils enjoy participating in sports clubs and competitions. Assemblies provide opportunities to celebrate pupils’ success in school, as well as activities that pupils take part in outside of school.

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

The school has constructed a new and ambitious curriculum. It is in its second year of implementation. Leaders have clearly identified the skills and knowledge that pupils must learn as they progress through the school. The curriculum builds on what children learn in the early years. Pupils construct concept maps before starting a new topic. Over the course of their study, they add what they have learned. Pupils regularly refer to these maps. This enables them to make connections to prior learning and to concepts across the curriculum. It builds pupils’ independence as learners. 4 June 2024

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Teachers adapt the curriculum well to meet the needs of pupils with SEND. They skilfully breakdown learning into small, manageable steps. Teachers provide high-quality resources for pupils to use. Where necessary, these support pupils’ individual learning and sensory needs appropriately. Teachers demonstrate confidence in their subject knowledge. They address misconceptions promptly within lessons. Teachers check what pupils know and understand at the beginning and end of units of work. This enables them to ensure that gaps in pupils’ knowledge are quickly followed up.

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Children in the early years enjoy learning songs, rhymes and poems. During the inspection, children in Nursery used actions when performing a poem about a growing plant. These activities prepare children well for when they start to learn phonics from the start of Reception. The school fosters a love of reading in the school. Most pupils enjoy reading. They choose books from the library that spark their interest in different authors. Pupils enjoy listening to their teacher read stories at the end of the day. Through this, pupils experience stories from different cultures. The school has renewed its focus on phonics in recent years. It has ensured that teachers and support staff in all classes are trained to teach the school’s phonics programme. Teachers are confident in the teaching of phonics. Most pupils read books that are well matched to their stage of reading. Over time, pupils develop fluency and accuracy in their reading. The school provides timely

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support to pupils at risk of falling behind when learning how to read. While there are many strengths in the school’s approach to developing reading, there remain aspects to refine. Sometimes, adults do not respond swiftly enough to errors in pronunciation. Some pupils do not consistently use the strategies that they have been taught to help them to decode new words. The school does not routinely check that strategies are taught with consistency.

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The school provides opportunities for pupils to participate in discussions and debates within the classroom. Pupils listen attentively to their peers and respond appropriately with considered answers. Pupils learn about different faiths and cultures. The school has, rightly, identified that some pupils’ knowledge of different faiths and cultures is not as extensive as it could be. The school recognises the need to review how these concepts are taught so that pupils build their knowledge as they progress through the school.

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Over the past year, the school has experienced significant changes in staffing. Leaders, including those with responsibility for governance, consider the changes in school and demands on staff workload in their decision-making. In recent years, the school has focused on ensuring high standards in English and mathematics. This has resulted in improved outcomes for pupils, including those with SEND and pupils who are disadvantaged. While there have been improvements to the whole curriculum during this time, the school has not routinely checked that the actions taken to develop the school are having the intended impact.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The school has established processes to keep pupils safe in school. Pupils feel safe because of the routines that are in place. Pupils know that there is a trusted adult to go to 4 June 2024

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if they have a concern. Staff are aware of the procedures to follow in school if a pupil makes a disclosure to them. The designated safeguarding leads are knowledgeable about the action to take when a concern is raised with them.

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Staff receive safeguarding training. Training days are used to update staff about statutory guidance. In addition, staff access online training to support their knowledge about safeguarding. The school does not provide opportunities for staff to reflect on, or discuss, their training or how their learning is applied within the school’s context.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school does not routinely check that the actions to develop the school are having the intended impact. Opportunities are missed to refine and improve practice across the curriculum. Leaders, including those with responsibility for governance, should ensure that they regularly check that actions to develop the school are accurately evaluated and have the intended impact on pupils’ learning and development.  The school does not provide regular opportunities for staff to share and reflect on safeguarding training and updates. Some staff do not fully understand how their training applies to the school’s context and their role. The school must ensure that it provides regular opportunities for all staff to discuss and build on their knowledge of safeguarding so that they know how to apply what they have learned in their day-to- day practice.

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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 first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in May 2019.

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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. 4 June 2024

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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). 4 June 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 8 and 9 May 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is smaller than the average-sized school.  The proportion of pupils who are eligible for free school meals is well above the national average.  The proportion of pupils with an education, health and care plan is above the national average.  The school runs a breakfast club.  The school does not use any alternative provision.

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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. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 4 June 2024

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 Inspectors spoke to the headteacher, deputy headteacher, special educational needs coordinator and pastoral manager.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and history. 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.  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 met with the school’s improvement partner from the local authority.  A meeting was held with representatives from the governing body.  An inspector visited the school’s breakfast club.

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 Inspectors spoke to parents at the beginning and end of the school day. Responses from parents to Ofsted’s parent survey, Ofsted Parent View, were also considered. Inspectors reviewed responses to Ofsted’s staff and pupil surveys.

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Inspection team

Matthew Harrington, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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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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