King's Academy College Park (Junior)

Inspection of King’s Academy College Park (Junior) Crofton Road, North End, Portsmouth, Hampshire PO2 0NT

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Inspection dates: 26 and 27 November 2024

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Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Previous inspection grade Good

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The headteacher of this school is Rachel Carlyle. The school is part of King’s Group Academies, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Nick Cross, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Ben Williams. 26 and 27 November 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

School leaders have high expectations for all pupils and staff. Pupils speak very positively about their school. They live by the school’s values each day by showing independence and kindness to one another. Pupils have confidence in the trusted adults in school. There is a culture of positive behaviour, and the school is generally calm. Pupils develop keen interest, curiosity and enjoyment in their learning. Breaktimes are active, social and fun.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils receive a good-quality education. The school has ensured that there is now a clearly sequenced curriculum in place in all subjects. Pupils enjoy their learning. They know they are learning more valuable knowledge and skills than before.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school carefully considers the needs of its pupils when designing its offer for personal development. Pupils have numerous opportunities to be part of the wider leadership team of the school. Pupils take great pride in making a difference to the school by being ‘inclusion ambassadors’, ‘international ambassadors’ or part of the ‘communications team’. They talk positively about the range of extra-curricular activities such as creative writing, football and chess. They appreciate the school trips and being part of the community through fundraising or donating to food banks.

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

The school has faced some significant challenges with staff changes since the last inspection, including leadership roles. The school has accurately evaluated the quality of education and responded very effectively to a decline in pupils’ results at the end of Year 6. The impact of this work is bringing about clear improvements in the quality of education that pupils receive across the curriculum.

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

The school has revitalised its reading and writing curriculums. The school promotes a love of reading. Staff quickly identify any pupils who continue to require early reading support. Staff provide these pupils with appropriate help so they learn to read fluently. These pupils practise reading books that match the sounds and words that they know. Generally, pupils continue to build their reading fluency and comprehension well throughout the school.

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

The school has raised its expectations for what pupils can achieve in writing. There is a greater focus on specific grammar and punctuation knowledge. Staff provide pupils with more opportunities to develop their writing fluency. However, sometimes pupils are given tasks that are either too easy or too hard for them. As a result, some pupils do not develop their writing to the standard they could.

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

In all other subjects, staff implement the curriculum well. Pupils learn securely in mathematics. Their knowledge is growing well in the full range of wider curriculum subjects. While the school has made necessary changes to the curriculum in order to improve it, some gaps remain in pupils’ knowledge because the previous curriculum was not as effective. At times, in some subjects, teachers’ checks on pupils’ learning are not fully effective in identifying these gaps so they can be addressed. 26 and 27 November 2024

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The school provides effective additional support for pupils who need it. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, as well as those who need additional help to meet the school’s high expectations for behaviour. The needs of all of these pupils are identified well. Staff consider the best ways forward to make school life as successful as possible for all pupils. Staff provide pupils with the right support. Pupils attend school regularly. Where absence becomes a concern, the school works closely and effectively with families to improve attendance.

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Pupils’ wider development is strong. They know the positive differences they can make to the world around them. They respect and celebrate people from different backgrounds to their own. They learn how to maintain healthy relationships with others and how to keep safe when online.

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The school has tackled the challenges it has faced since the last inspection head-on. Staff feel well supported. Governors and trustees bring a range of useful experience to their roles. They maintain a good oversight of the school’s work and performance. They identify strengths and development areas and provide appropriate support and challenge to improve the school further.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some pupils do not develop their writing skills as well as they could. The tasks they are given are sometimes too easy or too hard. The school should further develop the expertise of staff to consistently implement the new approach to the teaching of writing and maintain a sharp focus on developing pupils’ writing skills.  In some subjects, teachers have not identified and filled gaps in pupils’ knowledge quickly enough. Consequently, some pupils are not secure in what they can remember in these subjects. The school should ensure that the new curriculum is implemented effectively across all subjects so pupils learn the important knowledge the school intends.

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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. 26 and 27 November 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 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). 26 and 27 November 2024

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 6 and 7 February 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this school

 The headteacher has been in post since 2021. She is also headteacher of the neighbouring King’s Academy College Park Infant School. This school and the infant school work very closely together.  The school is part of King’s Group Academies. The trust runs 14 primary and secondary schools in Portsmouth and the south-east of England.  The school currently uses no alternative provision.  The school runs a pre-school and after-school club.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given 26 and 27 November 2024

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 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school has 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, science, geography and design and technology. For each deep dive, 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.  Inspectors also discussed the curriculum in some other subjects.  Inspectors met with the headteacher and other leaders in the school. The lead inspector also met with the chair of the local governing board, a trustee and educational representatives from the trust.

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 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.  The inspectors reviewed a range of the school’s documentation, including self- evaluation reports, minutes of local governing body meetings, minutes of the board of trustees meetings and behaviour incident logs.  The inspectors considered the views of parents shared through Ofsted Parent View, and an inspector also spoke with parents on the first day of the inspection.  The views of staff were gathered through interviews and discussions conducted throughout the inspection, as well as the staff survey.  Inspectors gathered pupils’ views throughout the inspection, including through classroom visits and group discussions, as well as at playtime and lunchtime.

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Inspection team

Chris Parker, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Joyce Lydford Ofsted Inspector 26 and 27 November 2024

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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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