Croydon school Kingsley Primary Academy rated ‘inadequate’ in Oftsed report

BY TARA O’CONNOR
Local Government Correspondent
toby@slpmedia.co.uk

A school which has had a “difficult time” since it converted to an academy in 2017 has now been rated ‘Inadequate’ by Ofsted and placed in special measures.

Inspectors said the quality of education at Kingsley Primary Academy, in Thomson Crescent, Croydon was poor – it was also given the same rating by inspectors in July 2016.

The report, published on November 25, said: “Since it opened, the school has been through a difficult time.

There have been changes in leaders and teaching staff. Leaders and trustees have not improved the school quickly enough.”

Inspectors found that pupils spend a lot of time learning English and maths with not enough focus on other subjects.

And while children were “enthusiastic about their learning,” they were not prepared for secondary school.

They also found that behaviour at the school was an issue, with children often seeing fights in the playground and hearing shouting in the corridors.

The school is run by the Cirrus Primary Academy Trust which runs six other schools.

The Primary Hearing Centre is also based at Kingsley, which is
attended by deaf children from Croydon and neighbouring boroughs. It has capacity for 16 pupils and is run by Croydon council.

The Ofsted report states that these children are involved in all aspects of school life.

The inspectors did find that maths teaching at the school was better than other subjects with the same approach taken across the school.

It also found that children followed a structured reading programme when they join the school, which is well taught. But it is not something that is built on in Years 1 and 2.

Headteacher Ian McCrae said: “We are all incredibly disappointed with the outcome of our recent inspection.

The report provided detailed feedback and the groundwork required to bring about rapid improvement is already in place.

“The academy and the trust remains committed to ensuring that the children in our care receive the best possible education, and we strive to deliver the excellent school experience they deserve.”

The school has been placed in special measures as inspectors feel that it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education.

And Ofsted recommended that the school should not appoint newly qualified teachers.

Ofsted will now monitor Kingsley Primary Academy to check its progress and will carry out another full inspection within 30 months.