King David Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

There has been no change to this school's overall judgement of good as a result of this ungraded (section 8) inspection.

However, the evidence gathered suggests that the inspection grade might not be as high if a graded (section 5) inspection were carried out now. Inspectors are recommending the next inspection to be a graded inspection.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils said that the best thing about their school is the respectful, tolerant and welcoming environment that they, and staff, create for each other.

Pupils are proud of the caring culture at the school. This helps them to feel safe. Pupils appreciate the Jewish ethos and enjoy the Jewish learning opp...ortunities that are threaded through the school's curriculum and wider activities.

Pupils appreciate their reading gladiators club and the ambassador roles that they can undertake. They also enjoy listening to the various external speakers who visit school. However, pupils miss taking part in visits outside of school.

Leaders have not resumed these events since the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions eased.

Leaders' ambition for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to achieve well is reflected in pupils' gains in reading, writing and mathematics. However, pupils are not achieving as well as they should across a range of other subjects.

This is because leaders are still in the early stages of implementing curriculums in other subjects.

Pupils understand the high expectations that leaders set for their behaviour. Pupils have positive attitudes to their learning.

They behave well in lessons and around the school. Staff deal with the rare incidents of bullying effectively.

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

Leaders have implemented carefully designed curriculums in English and mathematics.

In these subjects, teachers are clear on what they should teach and how they should deliver subject content. This leads to pupils developing their knowledge securely over time in reading, writing and mathematics. However, in most other subjects, leaders have either not fully identified the specific knowledge that pupils need to learn or have only completed this work recently.

Therefore, teachers are unsure of, or are still getting to grips with, leaders' expectations of what pupils should learn in these subjects and how best to deliver subject content. This leads to teachers choosing resources or activities that are not well suited to helping pupils build their knowledge securely. It also means that teachers are sometimes unclear on what knowledge to check, or what assessment strategies to use, to establish how well pupils are learning.

As a result, pupils, including those with SEND, do not achieve consistently well beyond reading, writing and mathematics.

In some subjects, and in the early years, leaders do carry out some checks to see how well the curriculum is being delivered. However, overall, leaders' checks do not provide sufficient information to evaluate how well teachers are implementing new subject curriculums nor how well pupils, including those with SEND, are accessing them.

This limits leaders' ability to identify and address any weaknesses in particular subjects.

Leaders have prioritised the teaching of reading and phonics. Staff promote a love of reading through story time and carefully chosen books that foster pupils' interests and develop their understanding of the modern world.

Leaders ensure that children learn phonics as soon as they start in the early years. Staff are trained to deliver the phonics programme well and match reading books closely to the sounds that pupils know. Leaders ensure extra reading support is provided to pupils who might need it.

This additional help is effective in supporting pupils to close the gaps in their phonics knowledge quickly. This ensures that pupils become confident, fluent readers.

Leaders ensure that staff are effective at identifying pupils who may have SEND.

This starts in the early years, where children's needs are quickly identified.

Leaders have recently adopted a new personal, social and emotional education curriculum which is well designed to enhance pupils' personal development. Pupils develop their sense of tolerance and equality through the curriculum and the wider opportunities that leaders and staff provide.

Pupils know how to stay physically healthy and develop a positive appreciation for different religions.

Pupils enjoy their learning and show high levels of focus and concentration in lessons. This means that any disruptions to learning are minimal.

Pupils conduct themselves particularly well as they move around the school. They are sensible and courteous as they pass each other.

Governors play their part in setting the vision and values for the school.

However, they do not have a secure understanding of some aspects of their role. This means they do not carry out some of their core functions, such as holding leaders to account, as well as they could. Leaders are considerate of staff's workload and take actions to ensure that it is manageable.

Staff appreciate these efforts. Many staff feel that leaders engage with them effectively, but this view is not shared by some.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff are well trained to keep pupils safe. They know how to identify any signs that a pupil might be vulnerable. Staff know how to report these concerns to the leaders responsible for safeguarding.

Leaders manage these reports effectively. Leaders provide a curriculum that raises pupils' awareness of risks and helps them to understand how to keep themselves safe, including when online.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Governors do not have a secure understanding of some of their roles and responsibilities.

This means that they do not carry out some of their core functions as effectively as they should to ensure that pupils are safe and achieve well. Governors should ensure that they gain the appropriate knowledge and understanding that they need to help them carry out their duties effectively. ? In many subjects, leaders have not identified the specific knowledge that pupils should learn, or, if they have, this work has only been completed recently.

This means that teachers are not clear on what knowledge to teach or the activities and resources to select to best support pupils' learning. Leaders should ensure that teachers have the guidance that they need to deliver the new curriculums effectively so that pupils know more and remember more. ? In several subjects, leaders are not clear on how well their new curriculums are being implemented by teachers.

This means that leaders do not know how well pupils, including those with SEND, are doing in these subjects. Leaders should ensure that they have effective oversight of the curriculum so that they can identify what is going well and what they need to do next in order to help all pupils achieve.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

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 would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which 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.

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in December 2012.

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