Pupils and staff at Kingsbury Green Academy in Calne have been celebrating after receiving a glowing report from their recent Ofsted inspection, catapulting the school from one deemed by the inspectors as ‘requiring improvement’ in 2018 up to a ‘good’ status in all assessment categories.
The successful turnaround was acknowledged by Ofsted, who found that ‘staff know pupils well and have high expectations of them’ and that ‘pupils rise to this and are ambitious for their futures’. Furthermore, the breadth and strength of the curriculum was praised by the inspectors, who called it ‘broad and well planned’.
Since the secondary school joined the Royal Wootton Bassett Academy Trust in 2019, significant and sustained improvements have been made to the standard of education, and Kingsbury Green Academy has benefitted from transformational support, guidance and sharing of expertise.
The introduction of a new Education Inspection Framework in 2019 overhauled the Ofsted inspection regime, meaning that schools now need to adhere to a stricter set of assessment guidelines. This has resulted in many schools across the UK being downgraded since inspections resumed after the pandemic. However, Kingsbury Green Academy has bucked that trend, and has plans to go further.
Jason Tudor, headteacher of Kingsbury Green Academy, said, “Our motto of ‘Achieving Excellence Together’ is built upon the understanding that children can only succeed when families, children and schools work together. I am confident therefore that this judgement is only the start of the journey and that we will all continue to work together to ensure that every child in our care has a truly excellent education.”
Jason continued to say that he was particularly pleased that Ofsted recognised that pupils were proud to attend the school, and that the high standards of pupil behaviour and respectfulness were singled out by the Inspection team.
Furthermore, the strength of the curriculum was complimented by Ofsted, in particular for the high-quality teaching, learning and assessment that is at the heart of the academic success of pupils. The breadth of the school’s curriculum, via an extensive careers programme, Personal Social Health and Economic (PSHE) curriculum and extra-curricular programme, highlights the ambition the school has for every one of its pupils in the broadest of senses.
George Croxford, CEO of Royal Wootton Bassett Academy Trust, commented, “I am incredibly proud of all the staff at Kingsbury Green Academy in achieving this Ofsted judgement. Since joining the Royal Wootton Bassett Academy Trust in 2019, Kingsbury Green Academy has been a central part of our family of schools. They have consistently been open to new ideas and this judgement demonstrates the impact we have had as a Trust. Kingsbury Green Academy are now very much a leading school in their own right and I look forward to their ongoing contribution as we continue to develop over the coming years.”
Jason is rightly proud of Ofsted’s assessment, adding, “This report validates the incredible work of our excellent staff and recognises the collective effort to make Kingsbury Green Academy a good school in every possible measure.”
According to Ofsted, ‘good’ schools will provide for pupils’ educational needs and prepare them well for the next stage in their lives. Under the new Framework, inspections focus less on academic and exam results and instead look more closely as to how well schools develop children as a whole; encouraging them to build resilience and become better citizens.