King Ina Church of England Academy

Inspection of King Ina Church of England Academy Northfield, Somerton, Somerset TA11 6FQ

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Inspection dates: 20 and 21 February, and 13 March 2024

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The headteacher of this school is Suzie Svenson. This school is part of King Ina Church of England Academy Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by David Speed. 20 and 21 February, and 13 March 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is ambitious for pupils and it wants them to achieve well. Children get off to a good start in the early years. They develop positive attitudes to learning and are well prepared for Year 1. However, the quality of education that pupils receive beyond early years is not yet good enough. Aspects of the curriculum remain underdeveloped.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud to attend King Ina. They enjoy all that it offers to develop them personally. Many pupils relish taking on additional responsibilities, such as peer mediators, sports captains and eco-warriors. These roles help develop pupils’ leadership skills and increase their confidence. Pupils speak knowledgeably about the school’s values of community and friendship. Raising money for charities helps pupils learn to be good citizens. The wide range of clubs, visits and visitors broadens pupils’ educational experience.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has grown in size in recent years. Pupils feel safe. They say that everyone gets on well together. Most pupils conduct themselves well around the school site. Pupils are keen to learn and follow the school rules. Those pupils who access ‘the nest’ comment on how this provision is helping them reduce their anxiety.

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better?

The school has the aspiration for all pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, to receive a high-quality education. Most subject curriculums identify what pupils should know and by when. For example, in art, pupils draw on their knowledge of colour and texture to improve their painting skills. This is improving the quality of education that pupils receive. However, in some subjects, the curriculum is not implemented as effectively as in others. Sometimes staff do not pick up on pupils’ misconceptions. At other times, learning is not adapted well enough to take into account what pupils know and can do. As a result, pupils find it more difficult to learn the curriculum successfully in these subjects. They do not secure the depth of knowledge they need to achieve well.

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better?

The school prioritises reading. Pupils across the school enjoy reading. They like completing quizzes about the books they choose to read for pleasure. The school has worked hard to develop a well-designed phonics programme. From the start of the Reception Year, teachers know which sounds children need to learn each week. They make careful checks to identify those who need extra help with learning to read. However, in key stage 1, the checks are not used well enough to pinpoint precisely which sounds pupils need to practise. Pupils read books that are too hard and do not match the letter sounds they know. Therefore, the weakest readers sometimes struggle to blend sounds together. This makes it harder for them to build their confidence and reading fluency. 20 and 21 February, and 13 March 2024

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Children in the early years get off to a flying start. The curriculum builds children’s knowledge and skills well, including in writing and mathematics. For example, they learn to count and to form letters and numbers accurately. Clear routines in the Nursery and Reception classes help children settle into learning. Children learn new ideas and vocabulary through well-thought-out tasks. Adults keep a close eye on what children learn. They adjust their teaching so that everyone gets the support they need.

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Pupils benefit from a well-designed curriculum for personal, social and health education. They learn how to keep physically and mentally healthy. For example, the curriculum helps them to keep themselves safe online. Pupils understand different forms of prejudice. They say that discrimination is never tolerated. Pupils appreciate the many trips and competitive sporting opportunities that develop their interests.

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The school has high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. Many pupils show positive attitudes to their learning, including in social situations. When pupils demonstrate challenging behaviour, staff take effective and supportive action to enable pupils to re-engage in their learning.

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The school supports families to find ways to help their child come to school. This has had a positive impact. However, the school is aware that it needs to continue to work with families to ensure pupils’ attendance continues to improve.

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Governors and trustees know the school’s strengths and weaknesses. Parents have mixed views of the school. While some are unhappy with the school, others have confidence in the school and feel that their children enjoy school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, the curriculum is not implemented effectively. Staff do not consistently pick up on pupils’ misconceptions. At other times, they do not adapt the learning well enough to take into account what pupils know and can do. This limits the depth of knowledge pupils need to achieve well in these subjects. The trust needs to ensure that its plans to strengthen all subjects are implemented effectively.  In some subjects, including early reading, the school has not established rigorous systems to assess how well pupils remember the knowledge they have been taught. As a result, pupils’ recall of prior learning is insecure. This makes it difficult for pupils, including the weakest readers, to build their knowledge well. The trust needs to ensure that: 20 and 21 February, and 13 March 2024

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- assessment is used effectively to check what pupils know and remember across all subjects. - pupils read books that closely match their phonics knowledge and receive the precise support they need to become confident and fluent readers.

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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). 20 and 21 February, and 13 March 2024

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School details

Date of previous inspection 3 October 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Since the previous inspection, the school has grown in size to become a primary school for pupils aged two to 11.  The school has an on-site nursery, which caters for two- and three-year-old children. It is managed by the school.  The school does not use any alternative provision.  The school received its last section 48 inspection of church schools in May 2018, when this aspect of the school’s work was judged as outstanding.

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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. 20 and 21 February, and 13 March 2024

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 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.  Very occasionally, Ofsted receives information after a visit to a school that may suggest there are gaps in the inspection evidence base, which will cause Ofsted to conclude that the inspection is incomplete. This happened at King Ina Church of England Academy. One of His Majesty’s Inspectors returned to the school on 13 March 2024 to gather additional information to secure the evidence base. In such cases, the inspection report is not published until Ofsted is satisfied that the inspection is secure.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher, other senior leaders and staff.  Inspectors met with members of both the governing body and the trust.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics,

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art and history. For each deep dive, the inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, 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, the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school site. The inspectors met with school leaders to discuss and scrutinise how they respond to behaviour incidents and pupils’ attendance.  Inspectors considered the responses to the staff and pupil questionnaires and to Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including free-text replies. Inspectors spoke with parents at the start of the school day.

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Inspection team

Claire Mirams, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Jen Southall His Majesty’s Inspector 20 and 21 February, and 13 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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