Kingfisher School

Kingfisher School

Address: Trimar House, Cromwell Road, Weymouth, DT4 0JH Unique reference number (URN): 150924

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, pupils are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect schools for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The school has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. All legal requirements are met. Not met: The school has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met. Insufficient evidence: Inspectors were unable to gather sufficient evidence to judge whether safeguarding standards are met.

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Inclusion Strong standard

The school seeks to get to know pupils and understand their needs as soon as pupils have a place at the school. The school’s learning plans for each pupil are detailed. They outline bespoke and relevant strategies to help staff support pupils effectively. High-quality training continually develops the expertise of staff to meet the needs of pupils successfully. Staff know the pupils especially well. Through close communication with parents and carers, the school quickly identifies when a pupil might need some pastoral care or to approach the planned learning in a different way. They help pupils navigate their learning and their social experiences. Staff check how effective their actions are to support and make updates when it is appropriate.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Through lesson-by-lesson evaluations, regular review and careful tracking, the school knows how well pupils progress. Staff and leaders check pupils' progression academically and socially. One-to-one intervention helps pupils when they need additional support to secure their learning. As a result, pupils thrive. The school works extremely effectively with families, external professionals and agencies in their work to support pupils both academically and pastorally.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

The school is rigorous in its work to prepare pupils well for the future. The personal development programme is well planned so that there are continuous opportunities for pupils to develop their social and life skills.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

A comprehensive life skills and careers curriculum builds pupils' skills incrementally. Education about careers is explicitly taught from Year 5 onwards. Pupils build knowledge of work and how they might see their future selves. Working with a careers adviser means they start these conversations early. This is further enhanced with opportunities to learn about the world of work. The school plans regular experiences in the community for pupils, for example budgeting and planning purchases for a food bank or rehearsing taking different modes of transport.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

The personal, social and health education curriculum is carefully mapped to ensure that pupils' learning is age appropriate. Staff diligently break down language and concepts, such as consent, puberty or online safety, so that pupils build their understanding confidently over time. Through their learning, pupils engage in discussion and have a safe space in which to ask questions.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

Pupils have a secure understanding of how people are different. Cultural celebrations and experiences help pupils to learn about diversity. The student council takes an active role in shaping the school. Pupils understand the fundamental British values and build on this through their experiences of democracy in their school.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

Pupil wellbeing is paramount. Pupils learn strategies and language to support them in understanding and managing their own feelings. Staff know the pupils very well. Daily

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Expected standard

conversations with families mean there is a constant flow of knowing what a pupil might need or when there might be a need for care.

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Expected standard

As a result of this work, pupils build trust, resilience, new skills and strategies that successfully prepare them for the future.

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Achievement Expected standard

When pupils join the school, staff take time to find out what pupils know and can do. They use this information to check how well pupils progress with their learning through the curriculum. They identify what pupils need to know next. Teachers set clear expectations for pupils’ work across the curriculum. This helps pupils to see their own progression. However, when the learning is not carefully matched to what pupils know, they do not learn the content securely or practise the core skills that they need to progress well.

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Achievement Expected standard

The school prepares pupils for their next educational steps. Plans for bespoke pathways, curriculum learning and qualifications for when the pupils progress to key stage 4 and beyond are in place. The curriculum and the planned wider development for pupils prepare them with the life skills and core knowledge they need for the future.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Pupils enjoy coming to school, and most attend well compared to their attendance prior to joining the school. The school analyses and checks the attendance of pupils very carefully. It identifies when there may be issues that prevent pupils from attending well and acts quickly to address those concerns. When pupils join the school, leaders are clear about the school's high expectations for attendance. Pupils understand the importance of coming to school regularly. Pupils feel a real sense of belonging and part of the school community. They show their pleasure at wanting to be in school.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Clear routines and well-designed areas of school support the needs of the pupils well. The school environment is calm and structured. Pupils appreciate this. They feel safe and cared for. They are typically respectful of one another and supported appropriately if things go wrong. Pupils' behaviour in class is well supported through different spaces and resources that maximise their wellbeing. As a result, pupils enjoy their time in classrooms and the positive relationships that they have with staff and their classmates. The school celebrates pupils’ social and academic achievements, which pupils appreciate. Where needed, staff skilfully help pupils to understand and manage their responses.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The school has designed a broad and well-sequenced curriculum across the full age range. Teachers make sure pupils revisit the important learning so that they build their skills incrementally. Teachers know the pupils very well. They adapt resources and approaches to support pupils with their learning. Pupils apply what they have learned to help them deepen their understanding of knowledge and skills.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Teachers check how well pupils can read. They teach a phonics sound programme, alongside other interventions, to help pupils who need to build their phonics knowledge or fluency. However, some aspects of the school’s approach to teaching reading are not precise enough. Some pupils relearn content unnecessarily that they already know well.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

In primary classes, pupils develop their handwriting and spelling well. In the secondary classes, although interventions for pupils focus on core skills, there are fewer opportunities for pupils to explicitly practise and apply those skills across the curriculum.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders check how effective the curriculum is and how well teachers implement it. Collectively with staff, they identify the areas to develop, such as revising the content of a subject or the professional training required to develop knowledge and expertise.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders are clear in their priorities and plans for school improvement. Actions to quality assure the work of the school help leaders to have oversight of the areas for development and what is working successfully. The mechanisms for governance and school support are well integrated. Statutory duties are met and carried out with care. The work of leaders to ensure the independent school standards are fully met is diligent. The proprietor body has a well-informed and clear knowledge of the school and provides support and challenge effectively to the school leadership team. Leaders benefit from opportunities to network across a wider group of schools to share training and practice. This feeds back positively into the work to develop and grow the school.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders have created a culture of togetherness with staff. Staff appreciate the attention leaders pay to support wellbeing and reduce workload. Professional development of staff is carefully planned for. Leaders provide high-quality training for staff across a broad range of areas. Parents and carers are effusive in their praise for the school and the positive impact for their children.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Importantly, pupils are at the centre of the school’s decision-making and inform leaders' careful thinking about the school's ongoing growth.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils often join the school at different times of the year. When pupils arrive at the school, they experience an established and caring environment. Through a carefully planned admission process, the school gets to know pupils very well. It understands and meets the needs of the pupils effectively. High expectations and well-defined routines, along with trusting relationships with staff, mean pupils successfully integrate into their new school. Staff help pupils to manage their feelings. Pupils learn that people have differences. They are respectful of one another. If there are any unkind behaviours, staff help pupils to resolve and understand them.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils learn a broad range of subjects. Classrooms are calm and routines are well set. In their small classes, staff quickly help pupils with skilful adaptations so they are well supported. This helps pupils to prosper.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils are well cared for. They unanimously share their view that the school is a happy and calm place. Staff help them to feel safe and to belong. Pupils attend well. As a result, many pupils attend better than they did to previous settings.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

The school nurtures strong relationships with parents and carers. It takes pride in its work to be a ‘family’ school, which parents appreciate. One parent called the school a ‘lighthouse’ for families.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils benefit from well-established personal development opportunities. They plan and prepare food parcels for the local food bank or collect litter on the beach. They learn skills to help them interact with and contribute to the local community. Through these opportunities, pupils continually learn skills and build resilience that prepare them well for their next steps.

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Next steps

Leaders should ensure that the school’s approach to teaching reading more precisely focuses on new knowledge that pupils need to read more fluently. Leaders should ensure that pupils in the secondary age range benefit from more explicit opportunities to practise handwriting and number fluency, so that pupils strengthen these aspects of foundational knowledge across the wider curriculum.

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About this inspection

Inspectors carried out this standard inspection under section 109(1) and (2) of the Education and Skills Act 2008, and checked the school’s compliance with the independent school standards. These are the requirements set out in the schedule to the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014.

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About this inspection

Following our renewed inspection framework, all inspections are now led by His Majesty’s Inspectors (HMIs) or by Ofsted Inspectors (OIs) who have previously served as HMIs.

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About this inspection

Inspectors spoke with the principal, representatives from the proprietor body, school leaders and staff during the inspection.

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About this inspection

The proprietor body is Kingfisher School Ltd.

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About this inspection

The chair of the proprietor body is Tracey Storey.

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Independent school standards

Independent school standards are either met or not met for each category. The fees currently charged are £40,000 to £68,700.

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Independent school standards

The school's email address is: info@kingfisherschoolltd.com

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Independent school standards

All pupils who attend have an education, health and care plan. The school provides specialist provision for pupils with needs relating to neurodiversity.

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Independent school standards

The school uses no alternative provision.

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Independent school standards

The school is registered to admit 50 pupils.

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Independent school standards

The school was registered as a new school by the Department for Education in October 2024. This is the school's first standard inspection.

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Independent school standards

1. Quality of education provided Standards met

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Independent school standards

2. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils Standards met

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Independent school standards

3. Welfare, health and safety of pupils Standards met

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Independent school standards

4. Suitability of staff, supply staff, and proprietors Standards met

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Facts and figures used on inspection

This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.

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School capacity

5. Premises of and accommodation at schools Standards met

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School capacity

6. Provision of information Standards met

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School capacity

7. Manner in which complaints are handled Standards met

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School capacity

8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools Standards met

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other schools can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The school reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The school is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The school needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Insufficient evidence

Inspectors were unable to gather reliable enough evidence to grade an evaluation area. This is rare and normally only happens if there are no pupils on roll at the school.

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Insufficient evidence

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Insufficient evidence

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Insufficient evidence

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Insufficient evidence

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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