Great Kingshill Church of England Combined School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.

Pupils achieve well and their attainment is consistently above average by the end of Year 6. Good teaching ensures that pupils make good progress. Teachers have high expectations of what pupils should achieve.

They ensure that pupils work hard and are well motivated. In the Early Years Foundation Stage, children's knowledge of letters and the sounds they make (phonics) is especially strong because skills are taught very effectively. Pupils thoroughly enjoy school.

They behave well and feel safe at school because adults provide a secure community where everyone is respected and valued. Leaders are ensuring good school improvement.... The new headteacher acted decisively when she took up post to eradicate pockets of unevenness in pupils' progress.

Strategies to improve teaching have been successful. There have been good improvements in pupils' learning. Leaders have a good understanding of the remaining priorities based on accurate checks on how well the school is doing, including a very thorough analysis of information on pupils' progress.

The governing body is well informed and does the right things to hold senior leaders to account. It is not yet an outstanding school because : There are occasions when teachers give more-able pupils work that is too easy for them, slowing their progress. Pupils sometimes repeat mistakes in their work.

The marking of books by teachers does not always show pupils how to improve or what they have done wrong. Until recently, teachers who are in charge of subjects had too little involvement in securing improvement. They are developing their skills quickly but have too little involvement in checking the quality of provision, especially teaching.

Information about this school

This is a larger-than-average-sized primary school. Pupils are mainly White British but around one in 10 are from a wide range of other backgrounds. Very few of these pupils are in the early stages of learning English.

The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs who are supported through school action is broadly average. The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is below average. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium (additional government funding given to the school for specific groups of pupils, including those known to be eligible for free school meals, children who are in the care of the local authority and children from service families) is low.

Most pupils are in the first of these categories in this school. The school meets the government's current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils' attainment and progress in English and mathematics. The new headteacher took up post in September 2013.

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