Kingsfleet Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Kingsfleet Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud to be part of a welcoming community. They play well with pupils in other year groups. Pupils' well-being is at the heart of the school ethos of 'be the best you can be'.

Pupils feel safe because adults are always there to help them.

Pupils study an ambitious curriculum. They achieve well in many subjects.

Pupils enjoy the wide range of activities that bring learning to life. Activities include sports clubs, and music and reading festivals. Pupils visit places of interest such as the Port of Felixstowe, Ipswich Museum and Colchester Zoo.

This de...velops in pupils an understanding of different cultures and the world around them. Pupils take part in many leadership opportunities. This includes running the school's Fleet Bank, to develop their awareness of finance.

Pupils behave well in lessons and on the playground. This starts in early years, where they learn to take responsibility for their own behaviour. Pupils show respect and support each other.

When there is occasional low-level disruption, pupils receive effective support to understand the consequences of their behaviour. Bullying is exceptionally rare. If someone is unkind, adults help to sort out any problems.

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

Leaders are ambitious for the pupils to do well. They have designed a curriculum that allows knowledge to develop over time. Pupils achieve well, but in some subjects teachers do not always make sure work is well matched to the pupils' ability.

This means some pupils are not making as much progress as they should. More focus needs to be on checking the impact of the curriculum and how pupils are achieving in their subjects.

The school has prioritised the development of pupils' speaking skills.

Pupils explain their thinking, allowing for meaningful discussions in lessons. Pupils are confident speakers and use a wide range of vocabulary. In early years, children explain how they solve mathematics problems.

Older pupils can link learning from different subjects together.Reading is a priority. Teachers and teaching assistants follow the school's approach so that they teach reading consistently well.

Pupils benefit from the well-structured daily phonics provision and learn to read fluently. Those who need extra support receive help quickly and learn what they need to to use the techniques with confidence to read new books. Pupils enjoy reading and have access to a wide range of fiction and non-fiction books.

Older pupils are voracious readers. They talk with enthusiasm about their favourite authors.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well supported.

Leaders identify pupils' needs effectively. Teachers know the needs of the pupils and adapt lessons accordingly. Teaching assistants are well trained and provide effective support to help pupils overcome the challenges they face.

Pupils have full access to the curriculum and wider opportunities in school.

Children in Reception enjoy a stimulating environment. There are a range of interactive areas to promote independent and collaborative learning.

Teachers have high expectations for the development of reading, writing and language skills. Children gain new knowledge because adults know precisely what they need to learn. They enjoy their learning, displaying curiosity and resilience.

Children are well prepared, socially and academically, when they start in key stage 1.

Pupils have positive attitudes towards learning. Staff set high expectations, adopting a consistent approach to behaviour management.

Pupils understand the behaviour management approach. Attendance expectations are high. Leaders monitor absence with rigour.

The school uses effective strategies to work with families to remove barriers for absence. This includes using support from the local authority. The school adopts a proactive approach, highlighting the importance of attendance on learning.

This has led to an improvement in attendance.

Pupils enjoy a well-planned curriculum that prepares them for life in modern Britain. There are opportunities to discuss lifestyles and beliefs from different perspectives.

Pupils talk about respecting others' differences while being part of the same community. Pupils can take part in many clubs, trips and visits to develop their interests.

Leaders know what the school needs to do to improve.

They have been proactive in developing the curriculum. Governors are supportive and make regular visits to the school. However, occasionally governors to not give enough attention to pupil outcomes.

They should use the data available to them more effectively to hold leaders to account on the impact of the curriculum.

Staff are overwhelmingly positive about leaders. Leaders work hard to ensure that staff workload is manageable.

Staff say that they feel valued by leaders.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The school does not monitor the quality of the impact of the planned curriculum with enough rigour so all pupils master the skills and knowledge they need to be successful.

Leaders, including governors, should monitor the implementation and impact of the curriculum to ensure all pupils are challenged. Refining the monitoring and accountability systems will allow the school to know the impact of the curriculum they have designed to maximise outcomes for pupils.

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 first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in April 2019.

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