King Ina Church of England Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 20 February 2024

The school is ambitious for pupils and it wants them to achieve well. Children get off to a good start in the early years. They develop positive attitudes to learning and are well prepared for Year 1. However, the quality of education that pupils receive beyond early years is not yet good enough. Aspects of the curriculum remain underdeveloped. Pupils are proud to attend King Ina. They enjoy all that it offers to develop them personally. Many pupils relish taking on additional responsibilities, such as peer mediators, sports captains and eco-warriors. These roles help develop pupils' leadership skills and increase their confidence. Pupils speak knowledgeably about the school's values of community and friendship. Raising money for charities helps pupils learn to be good citizens. The wide range of clubs, visits and visitors broadens pupils' educational experience. The school has grown in size in recent years. Pupils feel safe. They say that everyone gets on well together. Most pupils conduct themselves well around the school site. Pupils are keen to learn and follow the school rules. Those pupils who access 'the nest' comment on how this provision is helping them reduce their anxiety.

What the school should improve

• In some subjects, the curriculum is not implemented effectively. Staff do not consistently pick up on pupils' misconceptions. At other times, they do not adapt the learning well enough to take into account what pupils know and can do. This limits the depth of knowledge pupils need to achieve well in these subjects. The trust needs to ensure that its plans to strengthen all subjects are implemented effectively.
• In some subjects, including early reading, the school has not established rigorous systems to assess how well pupils remember the knowledge they have been taught. As a result, pupils' recall of prior learning is insecure. This makes it difficult for pupils, including the weakest readers, to build their knowledge well. The trust needs to ensure that:
• assessment is used effectively to check what pupils know and remember across all subjects.
• pupils read books that closely match their phonics knowledge and receive the precise support they need to become confident and fluent readers.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)