King James's School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: King James’s School St Helen’s Gate, Almondbury, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire HD4 6SG

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Inspection dates: 11 and 12 February 2025

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Outcome

King James’s School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

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Outcome

The principal of this school is Ian Rimmer. This school is a single academy trust.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils say that they are happy at this school. They have a trusted adult they can seek help and advice from. Pupils are confident that they will receive the support that they need. Relationships between pupils and staff are positive. Pupils welcome visitors and they are articulate, polite and happy to chat.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for what pupils can achieve. This includes for their behaviour, attendance and academic outcomes. These expectations are realised. Pupils are clear about the school’s behaviour policy and see it as fair. Pupils behave well around school and in lessons. Lessons are calm and purposeful. Pupils say that teachers make lessons engaging. Pupils value the rewards system and enjoy receiving ‘ACE’ vouchers for their efforts. Pupils also enjoy attending extra-curricular activities that help them to develop their talents and interests.

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What is it like to attend this school?

There is a zero-tolerance approach to bullying at this school. Pupils say that friends look after each other and difference is accepted. When bullying does occur, pupils are confident to report it and say that staff do something about it. They say that if it does not stop immediately, staff will continue to tackle it until it does stop.

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

The school ensures that the needs of vulnerable learners are met. It identifies pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) swiftly. Teachers use resources and training effectively to adapt their teaching and this contributes to pupils with SEND achieving well. The school has a keen focus on pupils who are disadvantaged. The ‘3S’ 11 and 12 February 2025

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and ‘Focus 5’ initiatives ensure that teachers use whole school strategies to enable all pupils to access the same high-quality curriculum. Work in pupils’ books shows that pupils produce high-quality work. It is too soon to see the full impact of some of these newer initiatives.

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Reading is a priority for the school. Many pupils quickly gain the knowledge and skills they need to become confident, fluent readers. The school carefully identifies pupils who need additional help. Where a pupil is struggling to learn to read, or with basic number skills, they receive appropriate support to improve. Reading lessons take place frequently and pupils say that they enjoy reading. Staff receive training on teaching an effective reading lesson and how to model reading. They implement this training well. The school has recently put in place a writing intervention programme. It is too soon to see the full impact of this.

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The school has an ambitious curriculum. It has identified the core knowledge that pupils must learn. Pupils understand that this core knowledge is referred to as ‘golden knowledge’. Pupils cannot fully articulate how this ‘golden knowledge’ links with and builds on their prior learning, which hinders how well they can make connections between their learning.

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On the whole, pupils attend well. However, persistent absence for disadvantaged pupils remains much higher than their peers. There is a strong focus on improving attendance across the school. The impact of this is that the gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers is beginning to decrease, but there remains more to do to check the overall impact of these strategies.

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There is a comprehensive programme for pupils’ personal development in place. Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe and healthy. There is a strong careers offer. Pupils in key stage 4 report that they feel very well prepared for their next steps. They are clear about their future aspirations and the pathways to realising them.

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Leaders at all levels ensure that staff workload is considered when changes are implemented. For example, when a new initiative is launched, teachers receive time in departments to consider and plan their approach to implementing the change. This has a positive impact on teaching. Staff are happy at the school. Leaders and governors are knowledgeable and proactive in their roles. They work together to effectively support and hold leaders to account to ensure that pupils receive a high-quality education.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 11 and 12 February 2025

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some pupils struggle to explain how the ‘golden knowledge’ links to previous learning. This means that they do not make sufficient connections across their learning and cannot link concepts together well enough. Leaders should ensure that staff explicitly teach pupils how the ‘golden knowledge’ builds on what they have learned before, so that pupils’ knowledge builds progressively over time.  The school has not yet consistently evaluated the impact of new strategies and initiatives. This means it is unclear whether they are having a positive impact on pupils, particularly those who are disadvantaged. Leaders should ensure that these strategies are firmly embedded and evaluated for impact, so that all pupils achieve and attend well.

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Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted’s website. From September 2024, graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade. This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

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Background

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. 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’s work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection 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 the school to be good for overall effectiveness in November 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. 11 and 12 February 2025

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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). 11 and 12 February 2025

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School details

Number of pupils on the school roll 1054

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Michelle Oldfield

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School details

Date of previous inspection 5 November 2019 under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school uses two registered alternative provisions.  Since the previous inspection, the school has admitted 143 pupils from a local school that closed.  The school is a single academy trust.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation 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.  During the inspection, the team met with senior and middle leaders, staff, pupils and governors. A phone call was made to Employability Solutions. 11 and 12 February 2025

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 Inspectors visited a sample of lessons, 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; 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 analysed the information in Ofsted’s parental survey, Parent View. There were no responses to the staff and pupil surveys.

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Inspection team

Debbie Redshaw, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Vicky Callaghan Ofsted Inspector 11 and 12 February 2025

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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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