King’s Caple Primary Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Key findings

King's Caple is an outstanding school.

As a small school, it benefits hugely from its membership of the Marches Federation of Academies. This has been a major factor in creating and maintaining the school's outstanding achievement and behaviour of pupils, teaching, and leadership and management. The school has many strengths, notably the very individualised education and care it provides for its pupils, and the vibrant family atmosphere which permeates everywhere.

Pupils and their parents and carers are exceptionally positive about their school and express much happiness about the education it provides. Almost all pupils make excellent progress so that over time most reach standards above or w...ell above those expected in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6. The attention given to individual needs means that disabled pupils, those with special educational needs, and the gifted and talented all make similarly rapid progress towards reaching their full potential.

Pupils' behaviour is excellent both at school and at the many other schools and organisations they visit. They have positive attitudes to learning, are caring and respectful towards other pupils and adults, and know how to keep themselves safe. Their excellent personal development is strongly promoted by outstanding provision for spiritual, moral, social and cultural education, and by a wide and enjoyable curriculum, which is carefully matched to the needs of pupils in classes with wide age ranges.

Teaching is outstanding, as is the contribution of all other members of staff. Teachers have excellent relationships with pupils and high expectations for achievement. The monitoring of teaching and learning is good, but recommendations for improvement are sometimes insufficiently specific.

The leadership and management of the school, shared between two executive headteachers within the Federation, are exceptional. Leadership is enhanced on a daily basis by the highly effective management of the assistant headteacher.

Information about the school

King's Caple is much smaller than the average-sized primary school.

Almost all pupils are White British. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is much lower than the national average. The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is similar to the national average.

The proportion of pupils joining and leaving the school at times other than usual is above that seen nationally.The school exceeded the government's floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for academic performance, last year. The school has an Early Years Foundation Stage, which is combined with Years 1 and 2.

The other class also has a mixed-age group comprising Years 3-6. The school is a member of Herefordshire Marches Federation of Academies, made up of five schools of varying sizes in the Hereford area. The schools share resources and are led and managed by three executive headteachers.

The school is led and managed on a day-to-day basis by the assistant headteacher. The school provides a daily breakfast club. Among its awards, the school has Artsmark and Active Mark.