Kingston Park Primary School Review 2026: High-attaining, strongly inclusive primary with wraparound care

This is a large, oversubscribed primary with nursery provision and a clear emphasis on inclusion. The school opened in September 1989 to serve the Kingston Park area and nearby neighbourhoods, and it now operates as part of Smart Multi Academy Trust.

Academic outcomes are a standout. In 2024, 87% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths at Key Stage 2, with 37% achieving the higher standard. Those figures sit alongside strong scaled scores in reading (109), maths (108) and grammar, punctuation and spelling (111).

The most recent Ofsted inspection took place on 26 and 27 November 2024 as an ungraded inspection, and it indicated that the school’s work may have improved significantly, with safeguarding judged effective.

The school’s stated vision, Together We’re Better, shows up most clearly in its day-to-day inclusion work. Pupils with complex physical and medical needs learn alongside peers and participate in the same wider experiences, including swimming and residential trips, which signals a culture where access is designed in rather than added on as an afterthought.

Values are presented simply and repeatedly, growth, empathy and resilience, and the school links these to practical expectations about behaviour, relationships and effort. The result is a setting where personal development is not positioned as separate from learning. The curriculum language reinforces this, through “golden threads” such as Talk, Think and Collaborate that are meant to run across subjects and routines.

There is also a deliberate external-facing strand. The school reports participation in the No Outsiders programme (with a structured set of 35 picture books taught from nursery to Year 6 to support Equality Act understanding), and it is working towards a Schools of Sanctuary award, framing the school explicitly as a place of welcome and safety. That combination tends to suit families who want inclusion to be explicit and taught, rather than assumed.

Nursery-aged children are part of the same wider culture. Phonics, stories and number routines begin early, with nursery children starting the Little Wandle Foundations for Phonics strand and a planned set of 20 nursery rhymes used to build listening, rhythm and sound play. For families seeking a throughline from age three into Reception, the structure here is more coherent than at schools where early years provision sits apart from the main school.

King Stage 2 outcomes in 2024 are exceptionally strong. The headline measure for many parents is the combined reading, writing and maths expected standard, and the figure here is 87%. The higher standard figure is also high at 37%, compared with an England average of 8% for the higher standard measure in the same year.

Scaled scores add useful texture. In 2024, reading is 109, maths is 108, and grammar, punctuation and spelling is 111. Combined, the reading, maths and GPS total score is 328. These are not abstract metrics, they usually correlate with pupils who can read fluently, reason mathematically, and write with control by the end of Year 6.

On FindMySchool’s primary outcomes ranking (based on official data), the school is ranked 834th in England and 10th in Newcastle. Put plainly, that places it well above the England average and within the top 10% of primary schools in England by this measure. Parents comparing local options should use the FindMySchool Local Hub comparison tool to view these outcomes alongside other nearby primaries, particularly as performance profiles can differ sharply by cohort and by the balance of higher attainers.

For families of children with additional needs, it matters that outcomes are described as strong alongside inclusion. The school has a specially resourced provision for pupils with complex physical and medical needs and describes accessibility of trips and wider activities as standard practice. High performance alongside that level of inclusion is often hard to find, and it can reduce the perceived trade-off between achievement and belonging.

The curriculum is designed around repeated routines and a shared language about learning. Oracy is positioned as a priority, and Talk is explicitly named as one of the golden threads. In practical terms, this shows up in pupils being expected to explain methods, use subject vocabulary accurately, and build ideas with others, rather than treating discussion as something reserved for “presentation” work.

Early reading is a clear strength. The school uses Little Wandle Letters and Sounds for daily phonics in early years and Key Stage 1, with nursery starting the Foundations for Phonics programme. A fixed routine is used to create consistency, and the school describes books being matched to pupils’ current phonics knowledge and reviewed regularly. This is the kind of system that tends to help both confident early readers and pupils who need more repetition and tighter sequencing.

Beyond English and maths, the wider curriculum is deliberately “made memorable”. Each term begins with a topic theme, introduced through an Inspiration Day, and there are two themed enrichment weeks, one in January focused on reflection, values and goals, and one in July centred on careers and enterprise. The school also uses Commando Joe’s missions at set points through the year, which are framed around teamwork and problem-solving. The implication for families is that the curriculum is likely to feel structured and coherent, with recurring formats that help pupils know what good learning behaviour looks like.

Personal development is organised rather than incidental. The school describes phased Enrichment Awards made up of 20 activities and introduced in 2024 with a patron, Paralympian rower Grace Clough MBE. Pupils also meet practical life-readiness tasks referenced in the latest inspection, such as cooking for families, learning British Sign Language, and practising presentation skills by performing to an audience. For many parents, that blend of “hard” academic outcomes and daily-life capability is the real differentiator.

For most families, the key question is transition into secondary school and whether pupils are prepared for a much larger site, multiple teachers and a more complex timetable. The school has long-established links with Kenton School and describes a structured transition model: a Year 5 full-day visit in the summer term and a Year 6 two-week placement in the summer term where pupils follow a full timetable and learn routines such as movement around the building and the lunchtime system.

Travel is treated as part of readiness. Year 6 pupils also complete a bus induction with Nexus so families can plan routes and pupils can build independence gradually. This is especially useful in a part of Newcastle where pupils may travel by bus or Metro rather than walking from a tight local catchment.

For pupils with special educational needs, transition is described as more individually planned. The SEND information emphasises liaison with secondary schools so information is clearly shared, and the school references review meetings for children with higher levels of need. This matters because the quality of handover can strongly affect the first term of Year 7, particularly for pupils with sensory, physical or medical needs.

This is a state-funded school with no tuition fees. Admission is competitive at entry points, and the available demand data indicates an oversubscribed position. For the Reception entry route in the most recent dataset, there were 110 applications for 59 offers, a ratio of 1.86 applications per place. That level of demand is high enough that families should treat entry as uncertain unless they have strong priority under the published oversubscription criteria.

Reception applications for September 2026 entry open on 01 September 2025 and close on 15 January 2026 (midday), with national offer day on 16 April 2026. Applications are made via Newcastle City Council rather than directly to the school. Parents should use the FindMySchoolMap Search to understand their likely competitiveness, then verify the current published criteria on the council portal before finalising preferences.

Nursery admissions run on a separate process, with one intake at the start of the academic year in September. Children can apply if they are three years old by 31 August 2026. The published closing date for nursery applications is 15 January 2026 (midday), and places are allocated on 16 March 2026. Families who miss the deadline should assume the process becomes significantly harder, since waiting lists depend on movement rather than additional places.

Because nursery provision begins at age three and transitions into Reception, it is worth considering early. Even when a child is already in nursery, Reception is a separate admissions step and families should not assume an automatic place. For children with additional needs, early conversations with the SENCo can be important, since the school describes the use of external agencies and tailored support alongside mainstream teaching.

Pastoral support is unusually visible for a primary school. The school counsellor, Catherine Hirst, is in school every Thursday and offers formal counselling sessions for pupils, with referrals coordinated by the SENDCo. This is a meaningful layer for families navigating anxiety, bereavement, friendship conflict or emotional regulation challenges, especially where the difficulty affects behaviour or readiness to learn.

There is also an explicitly family-facing role. The Family and Student Support Worker, Lyndsay McMenzie, offers support with issues ranging from attendance and behaviour to bullying, friendship breakdown and managing transitions, and can meet families at home or at school. In practice, this kind of role often prevents problems escalating into formal attendance action or repeated behaviour sanctions. It also signals a school that expects to work with families, not simply instruct them.

SEND support is described as coordinated and systematic. Suzanne Cowell is named as SENCo, and the school outlines a model that combines adapted teaching, in-class teaching assistant support, regular review of interventions, and input from external specialists where appropriate. The school also states that trips and residentials are accessible to pupils with additional needs, aligning with the inclusion emphasis noted in the latest inspection.

Extracurricular and enrichment look organised around three pillars: music performance, sport pathways, and structured personal development.

Music is particularly well-specified. All pupils receive instrument tuition for glockenspiel, keyboard and ukulele, and there are multiple routes for participation: choir for Key Stage 2, a recorder club led weekly by parent volunteers for Years 4 to 6, and additional options such as piano and guitar tuition. The school also describes an annual composers’ showcase and an annual musicians’ concert, which gives pupils a clear performance endpoint rather than a vague “music is important” message.

Computing and problem-solving have a named offer at younger ages. The school describes a Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 coding after-school club delivered by Computing 4 Kids NE, which is an unusually early introduction to structured coding activities. For families who want early confidence with technology without pushing children into screen-heavy independent use, a supervised club model is often the most appropriate route.

Sport is presented as both participation and competition. The school describes a rotating programme of sports-based after-school clubs delivered by external coaches, and a competition pathway that includes local football leagues, city-wide tournaments, and trust competitions. Sporting team categories listed include football, girls’ football, rugby, netball, badminton, athletics and swimming (with swimming selection handled by swimming teachers). The implication is that pupils who enjoy representing school can do so, while less confident pupils still get structured physical activity through the curriculum and clubs.

Trips and workshops are used to make curriculum learning concrete. Science is described as being supported by named workshops such as Science is My Superpower, the KATS Project, and NFU live lessons, alongside educational visits to the Great North Museum, Centre for Life, Sea Life Centre and Discovery Museum. These are useful signals that learning is connected to the city and the region, not only kept inside the classroom.

The core school day runs from 8.50am to 3.20pm. Wraparound care is provided through Kingston Kids Club, with breakfast sessions from 7.30am and after-school sessions running until 5.45pm. For families with two working parents or shift patterns, this is a practical advantage, and it can reduce the need for private childcare arrangements. Nursery fee details should be checked on the school website; eligible families can use government-funded hours for early years childcare.

Travel logistics are taken seriously. The school encourages use of a Local Authority Park and Walk scheme at the Falcons Rugby Club at drop-off and pick-up, and it restricts on-site vehicle movement at peak times to protect pupils. For public transport, Kingston Park Metro station is a local option, and Nexus provides station details and timetables for planning.

• Oversubscription at entry. Demand data indicates 110 applications for 59 offers on the Reception route in the latest dataset. Families should plan a realistic set of preferences rather than relying on a single choice.

• An inclusion-heavy model can feel busy for some children. A specially resourced provision for pupils with complex physical and medical needs is a positive feature, but it also means a wider range of needs and adult support circulating through shared spaces. Children who prefer quiet, low-stimulus routines may need careful transition planning.

• Curriculum and personal development are structured, which can suit some children more than others. Golden threads, enrichment weeks and activity awards create a coherent framework, but families who prefer a looser, more informal approach may want to discuss how routines look day-to-day.

• Wraparound places and timings should be checked early. Kingston Kids Club runs from 7.30am and up to 5.45pm, which is valuable, but families should confirm current availability and booking arrangements as early as possible.

Kingston Park Primary School combines very strong academic outcomes with a highly explicit commitment to inclusion and personal development. It suits families who want a structured curriculum, consistent routines from nursery through Year 6, and visible pastoral support, including access to counselling and family support roles. Entry remains the main constraint, and families should approach admissions with a realistic plan and early action on deadlines.