Ormiston Kensington Queensmill Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 17 October 2023

Pupils are greeted warmly by their teachers and support staff when they arrive at school in the morning. This provides a positive start to the school day and helps to make pupils feel safe in school. Pupils are happy to see staff when they arrive. Staff work closely with pupils and families to understand what motivates them. Staff use this information to engage pupils purposefully in activities throughout the day. Leaders expect all pupils to do well in their learning. Leaders have designed a curriculum that meets pupils' individual needs. Overall, pupils are well supported by teachers, support staff and therapists so that they can achieve their personal goals. Leaders aim to build pupils' self-esteem and to prepare them for their adult lives, and in turn make a positive contribution to their community. For example, sixth-form students are involved in running the KQ café in school and the KQ stall at Portobello Road market. Staff support pupils to manage their behaviour well. All pupils have an emotional regulation support plan. Staff and therapists collaborate closely together. They identify triggers that may cause pupils' distress, and they work with pupils to understand and overcome these. These support plans are reviewed termly or more often, depending on pupils' individual needs. This means that pupils get the right type of support at the right time.

What the school should improve

• In some subjects, knowledge is not planned in a way that allows pupils to build on their prior knowledge step by step. Therefore, gaps can arise in pupils' knowledge and pupils do not reach the ambitious end points that leaders wish them to achieve. The school should ensure that all subjects are designed to build pupils' knowledge sequentially over time.
• There are occasions where targets in pupils' personal learning plans are not tightly matched to their EHC plan targets. As a result, it is unclear if pupils have mastered some key steps in their learning. This can lead to gaps developing in pupils' knowledge. The school should sharpen its assessment approaches so that, for each pupil, leaders and staff are able to obtain an accurate picture of the knowledge and skills that pupils have mastered.

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