Ofsted
Kings’ School staff and governors are delighted with the success of our recent Ofsted inspection and are proud to share that we have been rated as outstanding in 21 of our 22 criteria.
The areas of ‘Leadership and Management’, ‘Behaviour and Attitudes’, and ‘Personal Development’ at Kings’ School have all been recognised as outstanding. The area of ‘Quality of Education’ was rated outstanding five out of six criteria. One criterion was rated good which affected the overall grading and means that Kings’ School has been awarded an overall rating of ‘Good’ by Ofsted.
Despite narrowly missing out on an outstanding rating, we are delighted with the positive feedback we received from Ofsted. We are determined to strive for continued excellence and improvement in everything we do at Kings’.
The inspection highlighted:
• Pupils feel incredibly proud to be part of the Kings’ School community
• Pupils’ behaviour is impeccable
• Pupils achieve very well at this school
• The curriculum is highly ambitious
• Teachers draw on their impressive subject knowledge to inspire and motivate pupils
• Pupils show impressive dedication and commitment to their studies
• The exceptional range of extra-curricular activities available to pupils embodies the school’s aim of ‘Discovering brilliance in everyone
• Pupils know that their views on the school are taken seriously’
• Pupils are prepared exceptionally well for their next steps in education and in life
• Staff are proud to work at this school
Context
You may be aware that the current inspection framework, introduced in 2019, is significantly more demanding than the framework under which the school was inspected in 2014. Since I joined Kings’ as Headteacher in 2021, the governors and all staff have worked tirelessly to enable all pupils to be successful and to meet the requirements of the new inspection framework.
In the most recent GCSE exams in 2023, the school achieved a progress score of +0.43. In practical terms this means that on average half of every child’s GCSEs are a grade higher than pupils nationally. You may also have seen the recent Times Parent Power School Guide, which placed us as 15th best state school in the country for our pupils’ outcomes.
Whilst we celebrate these successes, we know that not every pupil manages to achieve as highly. We are mindful that some of our ‘disadvantaged’ pupils achieved less well in the 2023 exams. The inspection recognised that we ‘have already identified this as a priority and implemented a range of strategies across the school’ to enable all pupils to be successful.
Continual improvement – Una Laborantes
Both Richard and I are particularly pleased that the recent inspection has recognised the significant improvements that Kings’ School has made over the last 3 years. The inspectors recognised the passion and determination that all staff have for each pupil to be successful by working together to ‘cultivate well-rounded individuals’ and achieve our aim of Inspiring Futures, Exceptional Character and Academic Excellence.
We are hugely appreciative of all our parents’ support; during the challenges of COVID, the return of pupils to school and now as we continue to strive to achieve our goal to be a great school for every child who is part of our community. We continue to be completely focused on ensuring the academic success of all our pupils alongside the character development that will enable them to succeed whilst at Kings’ School and in life beyond.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our pupils, parents, Kings’ staff and the wider community for all their support and their contribution to our collective success.
Yours sincerely,
Dr J Adams – Headteacher
Mr R Priestley – Chair of Governors