Kingsweston School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Kingsweston School Napier Miles Road, Kingsweston, Bristol BS11 0UT

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Outcome

Kingsweston School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Kingsweston School are nurtured and well cared for. There have been many changes to staff since the previous inspection. Despite this, expectations are high and there is a thorough understanding of how to continue to make further improvements.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school ensures that learning is relevant, no matter the barriers that pupils may have. Pupils learn through different pathways: engage, explore, discover and endeavour. Staff adapt learning for each pathway so that it is meaningful for pupils. A focus on real-life, practical experiences helps to prepare pupils for life beyond school. Pupils learn about the need to communicate, for example by asking for bikes to ride on at playtimes. Older pupils enjoy going out to see the aeroplanes at Bristol Airport as part of their learning about different transport. They talk with enthusiasm about what they have seen.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff are caring and kind. They know and understand pupils’ needs and how best to communicate with each individual. As a result, pupils learn to be happy and secure in school. Clear, set, reliable routines help pupils to manage their day. Pupils are confident that they are safe and will be helped to achieve the very best they can.

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

This is a school that is unafraid to make the right decisions so that pupils can thrive. There is a determined effort to ensure that, despite being on different sites, Kingsweston is one school with a common set of values. The values, ‘empower and nurture through connectedness and creativity’, thread through the curriculum. This approach helps pupils to enjoy and engage with learning. 20 and 21 May 2025

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Staff are patient. They know and understand pupils’ needs, taking time to listen and observe pupils’ responses, in whatever form these take. Recent staff training and development have led to transformed approaches towards understanding pupils’ behaviour as a way to communicate. Information about attendance and preferred methods of communication is methodically evaluated so that pupils can be supported to get the most out of their time at school. This approach has a positive impact. Most pupils attend well. Furthermore, many pupils who arrive at the school unable to communicate at all learn, over time, to express their wants. They learn to use some words or other communication strategies effectively.

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The school recognises the vital role that reading plays in preparing pupils for the future. The school and classrooms are brimming with interesting, high-quality books. Staff have adapted some of the most popular books, using symbols. This enables pupils to enjoy reading with greater independence. New approaches to teaching pupils to read have been a focus for the school. This has led to the introduction of new programmes to teach early reading. The school knows that there is still work to do. Some staff have not yet had the training and support they need to deliver this well. Also, the school’s system to check how well pupils learn to read is at an early stage of development.

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A wide range of therapies help to supplement the curriculum. These approaches support pupils’ well-being and emotional development. Pupils experience useful music, art and play therapies according to their needs. The wide curriculum offer helps to ensure that pupils successfully achieve their personal learning objectives over time.

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There is a sharp focus on ensuring that pupils gain the skills they need to function independently and thrive in their future lives. The citizenship curriculum covers important moral, social and cultural concepts. Pupils are helped to recognise what they like and dislike, what is fair and unfair, and what is right and wrong.

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Pupils have the support they need to plan their pathways beyond Kingsweston. The school continues to develop partnerships with local secondary schools. Relevant careers advice and work experience help pupils to make wise choices for their futures. Consequently, the majority of pupils move on to meaningful routes involving training or employment opportunities.

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Governors provide strong, knowledgeable support and challenge. They check with rigour that the school keeps on its planned improvement path. Staff are happy working at the school, saying that they are supported diligently to do their jobs well.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 20 and 21 May 2025

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some staff have not had up-to-date training in the recently changed approaches to teaching phonics. This means that some staff do not have the information they need to implement the new phonics programme effectively. The school needs to ensure that staff consistently have the training and coaching they need so that pupils are supported well to learn to read.  Teachers’ use of assessment for phonics and reading is at an early stage of development. Consequently, staff do not consistently have accurate information on which to plan the next steps in learning to read. As a result, some pupils may not make the progress they could. The school needs to ensure that there are effective and well- understood systems in place to identify how well pupils are learning to read.

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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 judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness in March 2020.

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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. 20 and 21 May 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). 20 and 21 May 2025

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form

Appropriate authority The governing body

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form

Dates of previous inspection 4 and 5 March 2020, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 In February 2023, Kingsweston School federated with Claremont School to become the Claremont and Kingsweston Schools Federation. The schools now share a governing body. The headteacher became executive headteacher across both schools. A new deputy headteacher was appointed in January 2025.  The school caters for pupils with moderate or severe learning difficulties from across Bristol. The majority of pupils have a diagnosis of autism or other communication and interaction needs.  All pupils have an education, health and care plan.  The school operates across three sites. Primary-age to post-16 provision runs from the Napier Miles site. There is also primary provision at the Shirehampton site, which is co- located with Shirehampton Primary School. Secondary provision is at the Brightstowe 20 and 21 May 2025

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site, which is co-located with Oasis Academy Brightstowe. The provision previously known as ‘The Keep’ has been integrated into school provision.  The school uses one unregistered 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. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors visited a sample of lessons in all three sites, 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.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, deputy headteacher and assistant headteachers as well as other leaders and teachers in the school. An inspector met with the chair of

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Information about this inspection

governors and a group of governors and had a discussion with the school’s improvement adviser.  Inspectors looked at and considered the responses to the online survey for parents, Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments. Responses to Ofsted’s online survey for staff were also taken into account.

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Inspection team

Tonwen Empson, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Richard Vaughan Ofsted Inspector 20 and 21 May 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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