Kingswood Primary Academy

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Kingswood Primary Academy Southbrook, Corby, Northamptonshire NN18 9BE

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Outcome

Kingswood Primary Academy has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

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Outcome

The principal of this school is Kerry Langley. This school is part of Greenwood 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 (CEO), Wayne Norrie, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Christine Joy Hall.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy, safe and feel welcome. They know that staff care about them and have their best interests at heart. The school ensures that pupils arrive at school prepared to learn and able to achieve their best, for instance by providing them with healthy snacks.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils value having a say in how the school is run. They are proud to serve on the junior leadership team, on the school council or as one of the attendance ambassadors. The school provides a wide range of clubs and experiences to enrich pupils’ lives and broaden their horizons. Pupils like going on trips and having their learning brought to life. Camping in Mablethorpe is a firm favourite.

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What is it like to attend this school?

There is a positive, considerate culture at Kingswood Primary Academy. It is somewhere pupils want to be. Attendance is high. Pupils behave well most of the time. They try to demonstrate the school’s values of respect.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has great aspirations for all of its pupils. There are high proportions of disadvantaged pupils, pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and pupils who speak English as an additional language at the school. The school ensures that these pupils get the support they need to succeed. 23 and 24 April 2025

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

The school has designed its curriculum and its style of teaching specifically to meet the needs of its pupils. The development of pupils’ communication and language is a priority throughout the school. In all subjects, staff take time exploring new words, building pupils’ vocabularies and teaching them how to use technical terms. Teachers take every opportunity to model new learning so that pupils know exactly what to do and how to do it. Pupils learn successfully from these high-quality examples.

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

Pupils sometimes join the school part way through their primary education. These pupils do well while they are at the school. However, there is not always sufficient time for pupils to catch up before they leave. For this reason, published results in 2024 were lower than usual. Nevertheless, the school has improved its provision in mathematics and English to ensure that pupils achieve stronger outcomes. For instance, staff design tasks specifically to develop pupils’ problem-solving and reasoning skills. A sharp focus on inference is helping pupils to draw insightful conclusions based on the texts that they read. Staff prioritise the teaching of punctuation and grammar so that pupils can write complex, descriptive sentences. However, pupils sometimes repeat basic errors in their written work because staff do not respond to pupils’ mistakes well enough.

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

Staff teach phonics effectively. Pupils’ reading books are matched to the letter sounds that they know. Any who fall behind with their reading receive high-quality support. Pupils have positive attitudes to reading. They relish spending time in the school library and love the range of exciting stories that their teachers read to them.

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

Children in the early years get off to a good start with their learning. The early years environment is rich in language. Staff interact skilfully to develop children’s understanding and improve their speaking and listening. Children enjoy using their phonics knowledge to write about, for example, the adventures of Pip the mouse.

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

The provision for pupils with SEND is a considerable strength. Pupils, including those with education, health and care plans, receive high-quality support matched to their individual needs. The school identifies any pupils with additional needs early and ensures that the right support is put in place and carried out effectively.

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

The school has high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. However, at times, some pupils do not concentrate on their learning as well as they could. At times, staff do not deal with pupils’ lack of engagement as the school expects them to.

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

Leaders and staff promote and celebrate the importance of being in school every day. The school has effective systems for dealing with absence. Pupils rarely miss school.

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

The personal development provision at Kingswood Primary Academy is strong. Through the school’s personal, social and health education curriculum, pupils learn the importance of being active, respectful citizens. They consider the potential risks and issues in their local area, and how to stay safe. The school provides high-quality pastoral support to promote pupils’ well-being. Pupils are respectful of difference. They told the inspector that 23 and 24 April 2025

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the fundamental British values are there to make sure that life is fair and that people are protected.

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The trust knows the school’s strengths and its next steps. It works well with school leaders to continually improve the school. Staff enjoy working at Kingswood Primary Academy. They feel well supported in their roles.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Sometimes, staff do not identify and resolve pupils’ mistakes well enough. As a result, some pupils repeat the same errors in their work, hindering them from achieving as well as they could. The school should ensure that staff use effective strategies to check pupils’ learning, resolving any misconceptions swiftly.  On occasions, staff do not implement the school’s behaviour policy consistently well. Consequently, at times, some pupils do not engage with learning as well as the school expects. This hampers their progress through the curriculum. The school should ensure that staff apply the behaviour policy consistently so that pupils sustain high levels of engagement throughout the day and benefit fully from the high-quality education on offer.

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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. 23 and 24 April 2025

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This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness in February 2015.

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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.

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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). 23 and 24 April 2025

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School details

Date of previous inspection 20 November 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of Greenwood Academies Trust.  The principal took up the role in April 2024.  The school does not make use of any alternative provision.

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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. 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 visited a sample of lessons, spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. 23 and 24 April 2025

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 The inspector met with the principal and the assistant principal, as well as teachers and support staff. The inspector also met with leaders with responsibility for pupils with SEND, behaviour, attendance and personal development.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector: 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 inspector examined a range of school documents relating to behaviour, attendance and governance, as well as leaders’ self-evaluation of the school and the school improvement plan.  The inspector met with leaders from Greenwood Academies Trust, including the CEO of the trust, and the chair of the board of trustees.  The inspector considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View and the results of

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Inspection team

Shaun Carter, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector 23 and 24 April 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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