Kingsway Primary Academy School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Kingsway Primary Academy School enjoy coming to school.

Pupils, including children in the early years, feel happy and safe. This includes pupils in the specially resourced provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), (specially resourced provision). They value the strong relationships that they have with the adults in school.

Since joining the multi-academy trust (MAT), the school has raised its expectations of what pupils can and should achieve. Pupils, including those with SEND and those who are disadvantaged, easily rise to these expectations. They work hard in lessons and try their best to succeed.

Most pupils ...achieve well across the curriculum.

Pupils behave respectfully towards one another and to adults. From the early years, there is a calm and orderly atmosphere that enables pupils to focus well on their learning.

Pupils take full advantage of the wide range of activities that the school provides for them outside the academic curriculum. The school listens to pupils' views on what they want to do. Pupils benefit from opportunities to take part in activities such as rugby, martial arts and being a member of the gospel choir.

Pupils also enjoy visiting local farms, theatres and castles. To enhance their learning, the school has invited members of the local community in to talk to pupils. For example, fire officers, authors and a computer scientist have visited the school recently.

These experiences help pupils to develop their confidence and broaden their horizons.

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

Since joining the MAT, the quality of education that pupils receive has been transformed. The school has successfully designed a curriculum that is ambitious and well adapted to capitalise on pupils' interests.

From the Nursery Year through to Year 6, the school has identified the essential knowledge that pupils should learn and the order in which this knowledge should be taught.The school has prioritised the development of teachers' subject knowledge. Staff successfully deliver the curriculum using appropriate activities that support pupils to build their knowledge logically.

Staff routinely check that pupils have secured earlier learning before moving on to new concepts. Typically, this helps pupils, including those with SEND, to build a deep body of subject knowledge over time.In a small number of subjects, however, the school has not ensured that it identifies and addresses the gaps in knowledge that some pupils have due to weaknesses in the previous curriculum.

This means that some pupils have insecure foundations on which to build new learning in these subjects. Where staff have not provided learning activities that help pupils to backfill this knowledge, pupils' learning is sometimes more fragile.Staff are trained well to deliver the phonics programme with confidence and expertise.

From the start of the Reception Year, children learn sounds in a logical order. Staff ensure that the books that pupils read match their stage of learning. They swiftly identify pupils who find reading more difficult and make sure that these pupils receive the support that they need to keep up with their classmates.

Most pupils at Kingsway Primary Academy School are confident and fluent readers by the end of Year 2.The school has effective systems in place to identify the additional needs of pupils with SEND. Staff work collaboratively with parents and carers, the local authority and other external agencies to secure appropriate support for pupils.

Staff are skilled at adapting the delivery of the curriculum so that pupils with SEND can learn well. This ensures that pupils with SEND, including those in the specially resourced provision, progress well through the curriculum.Pupils display positive attitudes to their learning.

They are polite and considerate and comfortably engage in conversation with adults. Disruption to learning is very rare. However, a minority of pupils do not attend school regularly enough.

This prevents these pupils from experiencing all that the curriculum has to offer.The school takes account of its local community and places a strong emphasis on fostering pupils' wider personal development. It offers pupils experiences such as going to the theatre and singing in church.

Pupils relish their roles as school councillors and reading champions. They learn how to keep themselves physically and mentally healthy. These different experiences help pupils to develop a sense of independence and responsibility.

Trustees have supported the school to bring about considerable improvement to the quality of education that pupils receive in a relatively short space of time. This has had a positive impact on the learning experiences and achievement of pupils.Trustees, together with members of the local governing body, fulfil their statutory duties effectively.

They are fully cognisant of staff's workload and well-being. For example, they ensure that staff are released to attend training regularly and they provide academy-wide staff well-being days. Staff feel valued and enjoy working in this school.

The school forges positive relationships with parents. Staff keep parents abreast of how well their children are learning the curriculum.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• A small number of pupils do not attend school regularly enough. This means that they are missing out on important learning and all that the school has to offer. The school should continue to build and implement strategies to improve the attendance of these pupils.

• In a small number of subjects, some older pupils have gaps in their subject knowledge. This means that some pupils are not as well prepared for the next stage of learning as they could be. The school should ensure that they address any gaps in pupils' subject knowledge so that they have secure foundations on which to build new information.

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