Kings Heath Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy attending Kings Heath Primary School.

There is plenty on offer for everyone. Leaders have high ambitions for all pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

From knitting club to residential trips, there are opportunities for pupils to develop their interests and build character.

Pupils also enjoy taking on leadership roles in school, such as peer mentors and anti-bullying ambassadors. Pupils vote for school councillors. These opportunities help pupils to have a voice in school life.

Pupils value making their own decisions about what they wear to school. They say this helps them to show their perso...nalities.

Pupils know that the adults in school keep them safe.

There are strong, caring relationships between staff and pupils. Pupils say that there is always someone to talk to if they have a worry. Pupils are respectful of each other and understand difference, for example different types of families.

Pupils behave well around school and in lessons. In less formal times of the day, they follow routines and listen carefully to instructions. Pupils are energetic at social times; there is plenty for pupils to do, and nobody is left out.

Parents speak highly of the school, leaders and staff.

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

Leaders have brought about significant changes since the previous inspection. They have focused on the right things and managed changes well.

Staff appreciate this. They are positive about their work and the team they are part of. Governors know the school well and share leaders' vision.

Leaders want all pupils to succeed. Where pupils have additional needs, these are quickly identified. Support is put in place and leaders take advice from specialist services.

Leaders include opportunities so that pupils who might not have these outside school are not left behind. As a result, all pupils learn and play happily together.

Leaders have made changes to the curriculum, especially in mathematics and phonics.

Here, there are clear sequences of learning. Teachers use this information, and regular checks on what pupils can do, well. Pupils build knowledge and skills over time.

For example, in early years, children develop their understanding of number through engaging activities based on teachers' checks of what they have previously learned. Children are being well prepared for learning in the next stage of their education.

Leaders have prioritised phonics.

This includes for children at the earliest stages of learning to read, pupils with SEND, and older pupils in school who find reading challenging. A new phonics scheme is in place. Staff have been trained to deliver it and leaders ensure that pupils are regularly assessed to check progress.

Extra support helps any pupils who are falling behind. Consequently, all pupils, including pupils with SEND, learn to read fluently and with enjoyment. Once pupils can read fluently, reading and writing lessons develop their love of books.

Pupils vote for class stories and thoroughly enjoy listening to adults reading them aloud.

Some subjects are not yet as established as mathematics and phonics. However, new subject leaders are continuing to develop their areas of the curriculum.

This includes ensuring that there are sequenced plans in place to identify the key things for pupils to learn. Subject leaders are ambitious for all pupils, including those who are disadvantaged and pupils with SEND, to access the same learning as others. That said, in some subjects, leaders' clear vision is not always realised in how teachers deliver the intended learning.

Leaders know this, and plans are in place to check that teachers deliver and adapt the curriculum consistently well.

Across school, there are high expectations for pupils' behaviour. This starts in early years, where children quickly learn routines.

Respectful relationships are evident between pupils and staff. Pupils spoken to value the education they receive. However, small incidents of poor behaviour are not always recorded, leading to missed opportunities for leaders to spot and address any patterns.

Leaders have made changes to how they are improving pupils' attendance. They work with families to try and remove barriers to pupils being in school. Leaders know that there is more work to be done for some groups of pupils, and they are rightly focusing on this.

Leaders have ensured that a range of opportunities are on offer beyond the curriculum. Trips link to what pupils are learning in class. Clubs enable pupils to find out about new activities or develop their talents or resilience, for example through visits from a national ballet company.

Pupils take on responsibilities in school, including being on the school council. While these opportunities are open to all, leaders do not check that uptake is strong across different groups of pupils.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders ensure that all adults in school are trained to spot any signs of pupils who are at risk or need support. Staff know how to report concerns and leaders follow these up carefully. Leaders engage appropriate external support for pupils and families, where needed.

Through the curriculum, pupils learn about how to keep themselves safe, including when they are online. Pupils appreciate that rules and decisions made in school are for their safety and well-being.Leaders and governors ensure that all the relevant checks on adults who work in school are carried out and recorded.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• There have been many recent changes to the curriculum. Some subjects are more developed than others. Leaders should continue to embed changes and check that all staff fully understand curriculum expectations so that they can deliver and implement what leaders intend effectively across the curriculum.

• Leaders do not analyse some of the information they collect about different aspects of their work with sufficient focus. As a result, they do not always identify patterns or trends, which they can then address. Leaders at all levels should ensure that there is a strategic, analytical use of information in order to evaluate proactively the impact of what they have done and identify what to do next, across all aspects of provision.

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