Kingswood Primary School

Inspection Report Kingswood Primary School

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118524 Unique Reference Number Kent LEA 280336 Inspection number 23 November 2005 to 23 November 2005 Inspection dates Robin Hammerton HMI Reporting inspector

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This inspection was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Cayser Drive School address Primary Type of school Kingswood Community School category Maidstone, Kent ME17 3QF 4 to 11 Age range of pupils 01622 842674 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01622 842674 Fax number 87 Number on roll Mr M Evans Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Miss J Brown Headteacher 6 October 2003 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 280336 23 November 2005 - 4 to 11 23 November 2005 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied.

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors and an Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

Kingswood is a small rural primary school serving a village near Maidstone. All classes are mixed age. Most pupils are White British and there is a small group of pupils from Traveller backgrounds. Two pupils speak English as an additional language. The socio-economic situation of the school is average, though more pupils than is typical have special educational needs. At the last inspection, the school was judged to have serious weaknesses in the teaching in some classes.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Kingswood Primary School, 23 November 2005 to 23 November 2005

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Grade: 4

In accordance with section 13 (3) of the Education Act 2005, HMCI is of the opinion that this school requires significant improvement, because it is performing significantly less well in all the circumstances than it could be reasonably expected to perform. The school is therefore given a Notice to Improve. Significant improvement is required in relation to standards at the end of Key Stage 1 and in Year 3 and the teaching in Years 2 and 3. The headteacher, staff and governors, with guidance from the local authority, have made several successful improvements since the last inspection. Improvement since then is satisfactory overall. Because their self-evaluation is broadly accurate, they recognise that further improvements are still needed. Nevertheless, they considered that the school now provides a satisfactory standard of education. Inspectors disagree. Despite many strengths, the school is not yet sufficiently effective.

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Grade: 4

Teaching and progress in the Foundation Stage and Year 1 are satisfactory. They are good in Years 4 to 6. However, in Years 2 and 3, teaching does not do enough to meet the pupils’ needs and standards are very low. The school provides unsatisfactory value for money because of the low standards achieved by a significant group of pupils. The school is a caring community where pupils are well looked after. The curriculum is adequate, although some skills are not developed progressively enough. The school has clearly demonstrated the capacity to improve, taking increasing responsibility for its own development. It draws up suitable plans with resources allocated. Nevertheless, whilst staff with management roles work hard, they need to know more precisely what is expected of them.

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What the school should do to improve further

• raise the standards by the end of Key Stage 1 and in Year 3 by improving the quality of teaching in Years 2 and 3 • ensure assessment data is used to provide work which is well matched to pupils’ needs consistently in all year groups • improve the curriculum so that the key skills and concepts to be taught are clearly identified and progressively developed • clarify the main purposes of all management roles and how post holders will be held accountable

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Grade: 4

Children start in Reception with a range of abilities and needs. They make satisfactory progress and, overall, enter Key Stage 1 with average attainment. However, by the end of Year 2, and in Year 3, standards in English and mathematics have fallen since the last inspection and are now very low. This is due, in part, to staffing difficulties last year, which were beyond the school’s control, but hindered these pupils’ education. 2 Inspection Report: Kingswood Primary School, 23 November 2005 to 23 November 2005 Nevertheless, the pupils involved should be doing better. Conversely, by Year 6, standards have risen notably. Pupils make good progress in Years 4, 5 and 6 and achieve well, especially in English and science. Standards in these subjects are above average. In mathematics, standards are broadly average. Pupils who are Travellers, as well those with learning difficulties and English as an additional language, progress as well as

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Grade: 4

the other pupils in the same class. Basic targets, using National Curriculum levels, have been set for all pupils. These are starting to show some impact on attainment. However, they have yet to make a significant difference in Key Stage 1 and Year 3. In its self-evaluation, the school considered that, overall, standards and achievement were satisfactory. Inspectors, however, judge that the pupils’ achievement is inadequate because of the attainment at Key Stage 1 and in Year 3.

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Grade: 3

Pupils enjoy coming to school. Their attendance has improved significantly, and is now above average. Pupils are generally attentive in lessons, though they become noticeably more interested and inspired when the teaching is better. Pupils care for one another, looking out for each other’s safety and well-being. Parents say how well the older pupils, who are trained to be peer mediators, look after the younger ones. This makes pupils feel safe and helps them to enjoy school. Some parents consider, and inspectors agree, that pupils have insufficient opportunities to learn about a wide range of cultures. In assemblies, pupils reflect suitably on moral issues.

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Grade: 4

There have been improvements since the last inspection. Lessons in Years 4, 5 and 6 are now well planned, lively and interesting. Good questioning develops pupils’ thinking. Pupils have well focused individual targets, based on assessment data, and receive timely feedback about how they are getting on. This enables them to make good progress. In Reception, suitable changes have been made, in accordance with Foundation Stage guidance. The teaching is satisfactory, as it is for pupils in Year 1. However, in Years 2 and 3, there are significant limitations. The teachers, who job share, support each other and are determined to do the best for the pupils. They manage the classroom suitably and assess pupils carefully. The school has put suitable assessment procedures in place but, as yet, the written targets provided to help pupils improve their work do not match the assessments closely. They are not changed often

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Grade: 4

enough to provide momentum. Therefore, learning tasks do not always meet individual pupils’ needs. Sometimes, pupils lose interest because the teaching is not engaging. Staff do not always notice this. These weaknesses mean that pupils make slow progress. Pupils in Year 3 are not regaining the lost ground from last year. 3 Inspection Report: Kingswood Primary School, 23 November 2005 to 23 November 2005

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Grade: 3

The curriculum fulfils statutory requirements. National Primary Strategy materials are well used, particularly in English, to provide some engaging lessons in Years 4 to 6. Computers are now used well to support learning. Pupils with particular talents are identified and increasingly have special activities provided. However, pupils in Year 1 sometimes have a reduced curriculum when the teacher is more focused on Reception. The overall curriculum plan does not ensure well enough that skills and knowledge are developed progressively as pupils move through the school. For example, in music, there is not enough clarity about how specific areas, such as composition or improvisation, will be taught and then built on. This hinders the raising of standards. There is a suitable range of extra-curricular activities. An after school club is helpful to several families.

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Grade: 2

Kingswood School is a small, friendly community. Adults know the pupils well and care deeply for each one. Relationships are positive and sensitive. For example, staff ensured that a tragedy within the community was used to enable pupils to learn about themselves. Older pupils now complete a daily journal to reflect on their feelings. In the Foundation Stage, the young children are enabled to learn independently. Throughout the school, marking of work is now good. Pupils find the ‘thought bubbles’, which they write in their books, an excellent way of showing their ideas and asking teachers for advice and help.

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Grade: 3

Since the last inspection, the headteacher has developed her ability to appraise the school more rigorously and bring about change. Support from the local authority has helped build the school’s capacity to improve. The governing body has helped by improving its own work, providing appropriate support and challenge. The school’s main strengths and weaknesses are correctly identified. From this self-evaluation, staff and governors produce realistic improvement plans and are able to demonstrate the impact of these. For example, staff planned how to increase the range of activities involving computers, keeping evidence of how this raised pupils’ attainment. Communications with parents, including regular newsletters, provide valuable information. Most parents are satisfied with the school and feel they can have their say, though some consider they are not well enough listened to. Alongside this generally positive picture, however, there are issues to resolve. Although

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Grade: 3

the school recognises that standards at Key Stage 1 are too low, sorting this out and checking the progress of the pupils involved has not been given high enough priority. The senior teacher and curriculum leaders have made progress in improving the areas 4 Inspection Report: Kingswood Primary School, 23 November 2005 to 23 November 2005 for which they are responsible. However, despite recent helpful training, there is insufficient clarity about what is required of these staff, what authority they have, and how they are held accountable. Too much is done informally. This is hindering progress in developing the curriculum systematically and improving the use of assessment data. 5 Inspection Report: Kingswood Primary School, 23 November 2005 to 23 November 2005 .

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set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s

website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Kingswood Primary School, 23 November 2005 to 23 November 2005

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Overall

Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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learners?

NA 3 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? NA 3 The quality and standards in foundation stage NA 3 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation NA Yes The capacity to make any necessary improvements NA Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

NA 4 How well do learners achieve? NA 4 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

NA 4 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners NA 4 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

NA 3 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 3 The behaviour of learners NA 2 The attendance of learners NA 2 How well learners enjoy their education NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 3 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 2 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community NA 3 How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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needs and interests of learners?

NA 2 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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needs and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low.

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and supporting all learners?

NA 3 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 3 How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review NA 4 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can NA 4 How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money NA 3 The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities NA Yes The adequacy and suitability of staff to ensure that learners are protected

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The extent to which schools enable learners to be healthy

Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to eat and drink healthily Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to take regular exercise Yes Learners are discouraged from smoking and substance abuse Yes Learners are educated about sexual health

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The extent to which providers ensure that learners stay safe

Yes Procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements Yes Risk assessment procedures and related staff training are in place Yes Action is taken to reduce anti-social behaviour, such as bullying and racism Yes Learners are taught about key risks and how to deal with them

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The extent to which learners make a positive contribution

Yes Learners are helped to develop stable, positive relationships Yes Learners, individually and collectively, participate in making decisions that affect them Yes Learners are encouraged to initiate, participate in and manage activities in school and the wider community

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The extent to which schools enable learners to achieve economic well-being

Yes There is provision to promote learners’ basic skills Yes Learners have opportunities to develop enterprise skills and work in teams NA Careers education and guidance is provided to all learners in key stage 3 and 4 and the sixth form NA Education for all learners aged 14–19 provides an understanding of employment and the economy

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

The Pupils Kingswood Primary School Cayser Drive Kingswood December 2005 Dear Pupils of Kingswood School Mr Morris and I enjoyed our visit to Kingswood. Thank you for telling us all about yourselves, what you enjoy and how you are learning. We liked your school. It is a happy place and the adults care for you really well. You are very kind to each other, which is brilliant! It’s great that you have so few days off school. Well done! Lots of things have improved and are going well, but we think that the school needs to get better still. So we have arranged for some more inspectors to come back in about a year to see how things are going then. We really liked your thought bubbles. So I have done one for you. When we came, we found out that the teachers are giving you targets. These are a good idea, and you know them very well, but sometimes they should be set more often to help you to learn even better. Lots of

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

your lessons and subjects are interesting but we think some of them can be planned more clearly to help you to learn more. Most of your teachers do not just teach you and look after you but do something else as well, like being in charge of some subjects for the whole school. Miss Brown is going to think about how she can help them to do an even better job with this. You can help by carrying on working hard, telling your teachers politely what you think about your school, and helping each other. With very best wishes for the future, Yours sincerely Robin Hammerton Her Majesty’s Inspector of Schools

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