King Ina Church of England Academy

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About King Ina Church of England Academy


Name King Ina Church of England Academy
Inspections
Ofsted Inspections
Headteacher Mrs Susannah Svenson
Address Northfield, Somerton, TA11 6FQ
Phone Number 01458272587
Phase Academy
Type Academy converter
Age Range 2-11
Religious Character Church of England
Gender Mixed
Number of Pupils 375
Local Authority Somerset
Highlights from Latest Inspection

Short inspection of King Ina Church of England Academy (Juniors)

Following my visit to the school on 3 October 2017, I write on behalf of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in March 2013.

This school continues to be good. The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Leaders take a strategic approach to improving standards and have rightly prioritised actions to address those areas that are not as strong as they should be.

Governors and trustees are well informed and monitor the perf...ormance of the school effectively. Consequently, they have a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the school. Governors feel involved in the school and are empowered to hold leaders to account and ask challenging questions.

Parents, staff and pupils are positive about the school and the role it plays in providing a good quality of education for its pupils. Almost every parent who responded to Parent View said that they would recommend the school to others. Since the previous inspection, the school has formed a multi-academy trust with a local infant school.

Several members of staff work across both sites and share information about those pupils moving into the junior school. This strong relationship provides teachers with a good understanding of pupils' strengths and gaps in their knowledge. Teachers use this information to plan learning that matches the needs of pupils as soon as they start in Year 3.

As a result, pupils get off to a flying start. The previous inspection reported that it was necessary to improve the recording of behaviour incidents. Leaders now record all instances in detail and evaluate any patterns and trends.

Records show that there are few behaviour incidents and behaviour across the school is a strength. The previous inspection also identified the need to improve the quality of feedback for pupils across the school. Leaders have put in place a clear policy for providing feedback to pupils which teachers are adhering to consistently.

Most pupils value the feedback that they receive and use this to improve their work. Safeguarding is effective. Timely interventions and active engagement with multi-agency support are well recorded and leaders tenaciously follow up any referrals made.

Leaders have ensured that staff are updated frequently about the risks pupils may face, including radicalisation, extremism and female genital mutilation. Staff know what they must do if they have concerns for the welfare of a pupil. They know who to pass information on to and such concerns are well recorded and appropriate action taken.

When leaders are not satisfied with the responses they receive, they are quick to escalate cases. Every parent who responded to Parent View stated that their child is safe at school and looked after well. In the pupil survey, all pupils stated that they feel safe and feel they can speak to an adult in school if something is worrying them.

Every member of staff that completed the survey strongly agreed that all pupils are safe. Inspection findings ? In order to ascertain that the school remained good, a key line of enquiry was to establish the quality of the teaching of writing for pupils in Year 3 and Year 4, and the impact this has on their progress. This was an area for improvement identified in the previous inspection.

Furthermore, for pupils at the end of Year 6, progress in writing was below the national average in 2016. However, in 2017, progress in writing had improved. ? Work in pupils' books shows strong progress from when they start in Year 3.

Leaders' close work with the infant school has been effective to ensure that transition into the junior school is effective. Teachers share pupil information across the two settings and this informs future learning. Teachers use pupils' prior knowledge to inform teaching, learning and assessment.

As a result, progress seen in writing books is strong. ? Feedback is in line with the school's policy and teachers use this effectively to improve writing outcomes for pupils. In most cases, pupils engage well with this feedback and there are examples where feedback has resulted in immediate impact.

Yet for some pupils, feedback is not having this impact. As a result, progress for these pupils is not as strong. ? Pupils' books demonstrate that they are writing with an increased sense of maturity.

Pupils have access to a wide range of vocabulary and apply this well. They also have a raised awareness of writing for an audience. Consequently, pupils make clear efforts to engage the reader in their writing, regardless of the genre.

• The majority of pupils start school with a strong phonics understanding and can spell a range of words appropriate for their age. However, pupils do not always apply this understanding when writing at length. As a result, spelling errors are present for words that pupils should be able to spell.

Leaders are aware of this and plans are in place to improve this aspect of pupils' writing. ? Another aspect I looked at was how well the school supports disadvantaged pupils in their reading development. In 2016, disadvantaged pupils made less progress, by the end of key stage 2, than other pupils nationally.

• Leaders have acted swiftly to improve outcomes for pupils in reading, and the end of key stage 2 results demonstrate the impact of their actions. In 2017, disadvantaged pupils made progress which was above the national average in reading. As a result, all disadvantaged pupils reached the standards expected for their age by the end of key stage 2.

The progress made by disadvantaged pupils in other year groups is equally strong. Disadvantaged pupils are receiving good support which allows them to make the same progress as their peers. Consequently, the differences between these pupils' attainment and that of their peers are diminishing.

• Leaders have recognised that too few disadvantaged pupils achieve at greater depth in reading by the end of key stage 2. The school has put plans in place to remedy this but it is too early to see any impact. ? Leaders act swiftly to support those who require reading support or intervention.

The communication with the infant school in the trust has helped to achieve this. Leaders identify pupils who require more support and they receive this as soon as they start in the junior school. For example, interventions are in place for those pupils who have not met the expected standard in the phonics screening check by the end of Year 2.

• The school has a robust system to help pupils make informed choices for reading, based on their reading ability. Pupils speak positively about the range of books on offer at school and look forward to accessing these. As a result, pupils make strong progress and have a positive attitude towards reading.

• My third key line of enquiry looked at the effectiveness of support for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. In 2016, the progress for these pupils was in the lowest 10% nationally in reading and writing by the end of key stage 2. ? In 2017, the progress made by pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities in reading and writing improved, particularly in reading.

As a result, the proportion of pupils working at age-related expectations by the end of key stage 2 had increased. ? The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) has improved the transition of pupils from the infant school. As a result, leaders share information effectively and this helps to ensure that support is provided as soon as pupils start school.

The SENCo works well with class teachers to share information and monitors closely the progress pupils make. Interventions are highly effective. Adults have high expectations of pupils and this results in strong progress during these sessions.

Interventions build on prior knowledge and are well designed to meet the needs of pupils. Consequently, pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make strong progress from their starting points. ? The final line of enquiry looked at the impact that leaders have had in reducing absence for specific groups of pupils.

This included disadvantaged pupils and those pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. ? The absence rates for all pupils have decreased from a historically high level. However, for some groups, particularly disadvantaged pupils, absence remains higher than the levels seen nationally.

The absence rates for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities were high in the last academic year but these have improved. Current absence rates are in line with national figures. Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that: ? attendance improves for pupil groups, in particular pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged pupils, to match the attendance rates for other pupils ? teachers improve the accuracy of pupils' spelling, particularly when writing in subjects other than English ? the progress of pupil groups, particularly disadvantaged pupils, improves further so that more pupils are working above age-related expectations in reading by the end of key stage 2.

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the director of education for the Diocese of Bath and Wells, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children's services for Somerset. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website. Yours sincerely Nathan Kemp Her Majesty's Inspector Information about the inspection During this inspection, I spoke with you, senior and middle leaders, and a group of governors.

I also reviewed recent monitoring reports from your school improvement partner. I made visits to classrooms with a senior leader to meet pupils, observe learning and scrutinise their work. I also listened to disadvantaged pupils read and spoke with them about their attitudes to reading.

I considered a range of documentary evidence, which included the school's self-evaluation, development plans, school performance information, attendance, behaviour and safeguarding documentation. In addition, I took into account 16 responses to the Parent View online survey and free-text messaging service. I also gathered the views of staff and pupils through online questionnaires.


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