Monkton Church of England Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school Strong new leadership from the executive headteacher is driving rapid improvement in all aspects of the school after a decline in performance over time. The governing body has been reinvigorated and is now successfully holding leaders to account.

Children make a positive start to school life and their progress in the early years foundation stage is strong. Pupils really enjoy coming to school. They learn and play together well and relish taking part in a range of interesting activities, including forest school.

A good variety of after-school clubs enhances the broad and balanced curriculum. However, there is more work to do to ensure that... the curriculum in subjects other than mathematics and English develops pupils' knowledge and skills progressively. Safeguarding is effective.

Parents are reassured that their children are safe and happy at school. New subject leaders are not yet having an impact on raising standards. They are only just beginning to take responsibility for the outcomes of pupils across the school.

The quality of teaching across the school is good. Teachers make learning interesting and are now helping pupils to make faster progress than in the past. Assessment is now accurate.

The head of school takes personal responsibility for the progress of vulnerable pupils, and ensures that disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities are taught and cared for well. Pupils' behaviour in lessons and around the school is good. Every child is known as an individual and is nurtured by staff.

In recent years pupils in key stages 1 and 2 have not made as much progress in English and mathematics as they could due to weaknesses in teaching and leadership. As a result, some pupils have gaps in their knowledge and skills. Progress in reading at key stage 2 has been particularly weak as pupils' vocabulary is not developed well enough.

Information about this school

This is a small Church of England primary school in the village of Monkton, near Ramsgate, in Kent. There are up to 15 pupils in each year group. Key stage 1 and 2 pupils are taught in mixed-age classes.

The school has had a sustained period of interim leadership during the absence of the previous headteacher, who left in April 2018. During the headteacher's absence, the school was led for a period by the current head of school in the role of acting headteacher. She was supported by two successive advisory headteachers brokered by the local authority.

The second of these has now become the executive headteacher and is also responsible for nearby Minster Church of England Primary School. Two of the four class teachers joined the school in September 2018, one week before this inspection. The chair of governors was formally voted in to her role the day after this inspection.

The vast majority of pupils are from White British backgrounds. The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is slightly above average. The proportion of pupils who are disadvantaged is below average.

There are very few disadvantaged pupils in each year group. The last section 48 inspection of this Church of England school took place in October 2016. The school is part of the M7V collaboration, a group of schools in villages around Margate that work together.

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