Kingsthorpe College maintains ‘good’ rating as Ofsted labels it ‘orderly and calm’

The college was ranked ‘good’ in all five assessment categories
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A college in Northampton that was the subject of a recent Ofsted inspection has been given an overall ranking of ‘good’.

Kingsthorpe College in Boughton Green Road achieved this mark in all five of the assessment categories, including the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management and sixth form provision.

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Inspectors reported that the school was ‘orderly’ and ‘calm’ and ‘incidents of bullying were low’.

Kingsthorpe College has been awarded a 'good' rating from Ofsted.Kingsthorpe College has been awarded a 'good' rating from Ofsted.
Kingsthorpe College has been awarded a 'good' rating from Ofsted.

The report went on to say pupils were ‘happy’, ‘polite’ and ‘courteous’.

Headteacher, Jennie Giovanelli, was ‘delighted’ with the findings of the report that she called ‘very rigorous and fair’.

Kingsthorpe college was visited by Ofsted on December 10 and 11, when officers were satisfied that it should maintain its ‘good’ rating from 2015.

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In the report published online Ofsted said: “Leaders have implemented a well-thought-out and ambitious curriculum. They thought about the local labour market and pupils’ aspirations when they designed it.

“Pupils study a broad range of subjects in all key stages. They value the balance of academic and vocational subjects.

Teachers have strong subject knowledge. They present this clearly so that pupils know and remember more.”

Inspectors also noted that the college, which caters for more than 1,300 students aged 11 to 18, performs particularly strongly in art, business studies, ethics and dance, as well as mentioning an improvement in mathematics and humanities.

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The report went on to say that sixth form students had told inspectors that they ‘felt challenged and well supported’.

Special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) support staff were also praised for ‘understanding needs well’.

The academic side of the college was not the only part highly thought of by Ofsted.

Inspectors added: “The curriculum for personal development is a strength of the school. The programme for personal, social, health and economic education is comprehensive.

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“Teachers make sure pupils understand how to protect themselves from the potential risks of substance misuse, gang culture, knife crime and the internet.”

Ms Giovanelli told students, staff and parents they should be ‘rightly proud’ of the report.

She said: “I am delighted to be able to share this report with our community.

“The inspection was very rigorous and fair, and it is an accurate representation of the strengths of our school and also the areas we are continuing to develop further.

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“The college has seen a significant shift in culture over the last four years and all of us involved with the college – school staff, students, parents, governors, trustees and the local community – should be rightly proud of this report.

“As we look now to the next stage of our school improvement journey, we will continue to work tirelessly with all our stakeholders to ensure our students flourish, and leave the college representing the best version of themselves.”

The report written by Ofsted also laid out a number of points of improvement for the college.

These include ensuring teachers set work that is demanding enough, particularly in key stage three and making sure all leaders adapt to the needs of SEND pupils.

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The report also found that the college needs to reduce the number of permanent exclusions, even though they are used as a last resort.

It was also noted that the proportion of lessons taught by temporary staff needs to decrease further.