Code: E09000021
Director of Children's Services: Ian Dodds


Summary of Ofsted findings

Summary of Ofsted findings

Inspection of Kingston upon Thames’s local authority children’s services

These inspections focus on the effectiveness of local authority services and arrangements:

  • to help and protect children, and enable families to stay together and get the help they need
  • the experiences and progress of children in care wherever they live, including those children who return home
  • the arrangements for permanence for children who are looked after, in stable, loving homes, including adoption
  • the experiences and progress of care leavers.
Inspection type Inspection start date Overall effectiveness Impact of leaders Help and protection Children in care Care leavers
ILACS Short Inspection 2 December 2024 Outstanding Outstanding Outstanding Outstanding Outstanding

Data source

Area SEND inspection of Kingston upon Thames Local Area Partnership

The purpose of an area SEND inspection is to:

  • provide an independent, external evaluation of the effectiveness of the local area partnership’s arrangements for children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)
  • where appropriate, recommend what the local area partnership should do to improve the arrangements.
Inspection outcome

Kingston upon Thames local area partnership has not yet been inspected under the current Area SEND framework.

Data source

Joint targeted area inspection of Kingston upon Thames local authority

The agencies for these inspections can include the police, children’s social care, probation services, education and relevant health services. Inspectors will also evaluate how local agencies work with education and childcare providers. The focus of these inspections is how effectively the local safeguarding partners work together at the practice and strategic levels.

Theme Inspection start date Link
There have been no JTAI inspections for this local authority.

Data source

Ofsted inspection reports and tools


Local authority context

Population 18 and under Number %
Kingston upon Thames 39,169 22.7%
National 12,869,368 22.0%

Data source

Children looked after Number Rate per 10,000
Kingston upon Thames 113 30
National 81,770 67

Data source

School-age pupils eligible for free school meals Number %
Kingston upon Thames 3,761 16.0%
National 2,085,168 26.7%

Data source

School-age pupils eligible for extra funding (pupil premium) Number %
Kingston upon Thames 4,080 17.7%
National 2,266,608 29.3%

Data source

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) in state-funded settings Number %
Kingston upon Thames 5,689 18.3%
National 1,766,924 19.6%

Data source

School-age pupils with English as an additional language Number %
Kingston upon Thames 9,215 34.2%
National 1,806,029 21.4%

Data source

% of children in income-deprived families (IDACI) Average %
Kingston upon Thames 24.0%
National 38.0%
Health Index (children and young people) Health Index score
Kingston upon Thames 110.9
National 100.8
More details about the health index metric

Indicates the health of an area measured in three domains: Healthy People, Health Lives and Healthy Places.

A score of 100 represents health in England in 2015. A higher number means better health and a lower number means worse health.

Data source

Remit overview

Contents

Early years

Population Number in Kingston upon Thames % in Kingston upon Thames % National
Aged 0 to 5 years 10,876 6.3% 6.4%
Aged 0 1,660 1.0% 1.0%
Aged 1 1,674 1.0% 1.0%
Aged 2 1,895 1.1% 1.1%
Aged 3 1,828 1.1% 1.1%
Aged 4 1,850 1.1% 1.1%
Aged 5 1,969 1.1% 1.1%

Data source

Disadvantaged Number in Kingston upon Thames % in Kingston upon Thames % National
Early years pupil premium 243 2.2% 3.3%
Children looked after (under 1 year) 0.6%
Children looked after (1 to 4 years) 0.4%

Data sources:

Special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) /
Education, health and care plans (EHCP)
Number in Kingston upon Thames % in Kingston upon Thames % National
SEN support in state-funded settings (age 2 and under) 18 0.3% 0.3%
SEN support in state-funded settings (age 3) 100 5.5% 3.7%
SEN support in state-funded settings (age 4) 184 9.9% 9.4%
SEN support in state-funded settings (age 5) 249 12.6% 12.1%
Total: SEN support in state-funded settings (age 5 and under) 551 5.1% 4.5%
Children with an EHCP (age 2 and under) 1 0.0% 0.0%
Children with an EHCP (age 3) 9 0.5% 0.7%
Children with an EHCP (age 4) 48 2.6% 3.5%
Children with an EHCP (age 5) 73 3.7% 4.7%
Total: Children with an EHCP (age 5 and under) 131 1.2% 1.6%

Data sources:

Funded early years places for 2-year-olds Population aged 2-years-old Number of eligible 2-year-olds % of population aged 2 % take-up of funded places
Kingston upon Thames 1,895 217 11.4% 81.1%
National 630,059 145,824 23.1% 65.2%

Data source

Funded early years places for 3-year-olds Population aged 3-years-old Number of eligible 3-year-olds % of population aged 3 % take-up of funded places
Kingston upon Thames 1,828 All 3-year olds are eligible 85.5%
National 625,948 90.6%
The 2 and 3-year-old funded places tables look different because they measure different things; funded places for 2-year-olds are only for children considered to be disadvantaged, while for 3-year-olds everyone is entitled to a funded place.

Data source

Children's overweight and obesity Number in Kingston upon Thames % in Kingston upon Thames % National
Children's overweight and obesity (reception-age children) 265 18.0% 23.5%

Data source

Oral health Number examined in Kingston upon Thames % examined in Kingston upon Thames % in Kingston upon Thames % National
Oral health (visible tooth decay in 5-year-olds) 304 15.2% 23.9% 22.4%

Schools

Population Number in Kingston upon Thames % in Kingston upon Thames1 % National1
Primary-age pupils (ages 5 to 11) 14,844 8.6% 8.2%
Secondary-age pupils (ages 12 to 16) 11,321 6.6% 6.2%

Data source

Population of looked-after-children Number in Kingston upon Thames % in Kingston upon Thames1 % National1
Ages 5 to 9 23 0.2% 0.4%
Ages 10 to 15 41 0.3% 0.7%

Data source

Pupils eligible for free schools meals Number in Kingston upon Thames % in Kingston upon Thames2 % National2
Primary 1,963 15.3% 25.3%
Secondary 1,550 15.5% 27.5%
Alternative provision 71 45.8% 64.6%
Special 174 37.4% 49.5%
Non-maintained special 31.0%

Data source

Pupils eligible for pupil premium Number in Kingston upon Thames % in Kingston upon Thames2 % National2
Primary 1,938 15.4% 25.1%
Secondary 1,792 17.0% 28.9%

Data source

Pupils with SEND Number in Kingston upon Thames % in Kingston upon Thames2 % National2
Primary 2,386 18.1% 18.2%
Secondary 1,619 12.6% 16.5%
Alternative provision 141 62.1% 83.4%
Special 537 100.0% 99.9%
Non-maintained special 99.7%
Independent schools 962 23.5% 24.1%

Data source

Pupils with English as an additional language Number in Kingston upon Thames % in Kingston upon Thames2 % National2
Primary 4,981 37.8% 23.4%
Secondary 4,039 31.5% 19.2%
Alternative provision 11 4.8% 7.6%
Special 150 27.9% 14.5%
Non-maintained special 11.0%
Attendance of all pupils up to week 4 of calendar year % in Kingston upon Thames2 % National2
Primary 96.0% 95.0%
Secondary 94.1% 91.8%
Special 88.9% 87.1%

Data source

Attendance of pupils eligible for free school meals (summer term 2024/25) % in Kingston upon Thames2 % National2
Primary 90.8% 91.9%
Secondary 85.9% 85.2%
Special 86.2% 85.1%

Data source

Attendance of pupils with SEND (summer term 2024/25) % in Kingston upon Thames2 % National2
Primary 92.8% 92.1%
Secondary 88.5% 84.3%
Special 87.0% 87.3%

Data source

Primary attainment: Year 1 phonics screening pass Number in Kingston upon Thames % in Kingston upon Thames2 % National2
All pupils 1,340 82.0% 79.8%
Pupils eligible for free school meals 133 59.6% 66.6%
Pupils with SEND 158 51.8% 43.4%
Pupils with English as an additional language 470 81.2% 79.5%
Primary attainment: Year 4 times table check (full marks) Number in Kingston upon Thames % in Kingston upon Thames2 % National2
All pupils 672 36.2% 36.8%
Pupils eligible for free school meals 70 20.8% 27.4%
Pupils with SEND 51 12.6% 16.5%
Pupils with English as an additional language 274 40.4% 45.2%

Data source

Primary attainment: Key stage 2 reading, writing, maths combined (met the expected standard) Number in Kingston upon Thames % in Kingston upon Thames2 % National2
All pupils 1,253 66.6% 62.6%
Pupils eligible for free school meals 151 42.5% 47.7%
Pupils with SEND 88 21.2% 23.8%
Pupils with English as an additional language 483 70.0% 66.2%

Data source

Secondary attainment: Attainment 8 Average in Kingston upon Thames2 National average2
All pupils 59.1 45.9
Pupils eligible for free school meals 43.1 35.0
Pupils with SEND 35.9 28.1

Data source

Population receiving education outside of their local authority Number outside of Kingston upon Thames % outside of Kingston upon Thames2 % National2
Primary 946 7.7% 4.1%
Secondary 1,724 19.1% 8.7%
Special 106 23.9% 9.0%
Children being home educated Number in Kingston upon Thames % in Kingston upon Thames1 % National1
Primary 70 0.5% 0.8%
Secondary 180 1.6% 2.5%
Total 250 1.0% 1.5%
More details about the children being home educated numbers
Local authority data in the source dataset has been rounded to the nearest 10. As a result totals may not equal the sum of their component parts.

Data source

Suspensions (from primary school) Number in Kingston upon Thames Rate per 100 pupils in Kingston upon Thames3 Rate per 100 pupils National3
Total number of suspensions 42 0.3 0.9
Total pupils with one or more suspensions 29 0.2 0.5
Pupils with one or more suspensions who are eligible for free school meals 11 0.6 (in group) 1.2 (in group)
Pupils with one or more suspensions with SEND 28 1.3 (in group) 2.4 (in group)
More details about suspensions from state-funded primary schools and totals not summing
Suspensions data on total number of pupils may not match, as a change in a pupil’s category within the same term results in them being counted separately under each category. For example, if a pupil receives multiple suspensions while classified as not having SEN, and then receives additional suspensions after being reclassified as receiving SEN support during the same term, they will be recorded as two separate enrolments in the data.

Data source

Suspensions (from secondary school) Number in Kingston upon Thames Rate per 100 pupils in Kingston upon Thames3 Rate per 100 pupils National3
Total number of suspensions 201 1.6 7.8
Total pupils with one or more suspensions 153 1.2 3.8
Pupils with one or more suspensions who are eligible for free school meals 52 2.9 (in group) 8.2 (in group)
Pupils with one or more suspensions with SEND 55 3.5 (in group) 9.1 (in group)
More details about suspensions from state-funded secondary schools and totals not summing
Suspensions data on total number of pupils may not match, as a change in a pupil’s category within the same term results in them being counted separately under each category. For example, if a pupil receives multiple suspensions while classified as not having SEN, and then receives additional suspensions after being reclassified as receiving SEN support during the same term, they will be recorded as two separate enrolments in the data.

Data source

Suspensions (from special school) Number in Kingston upon Thames Rate per 100 pupils in Kingston upon Thames3 Rate per 100 pupils National3
Total number of suspensions 6 1.1 5.1
Total pupils with one or more suspensions 6 1.1 2.9
Pupils with one or more suspensions who are eligible for free school meals 2 1.0 (in group) 4.1 (in group)
Pupils with one or more suspensions with SEND 6 1.1 (in group) 2.9 (in group)
More details about suspensions from state-funded special schools and totals not summing
Suspensions data on total number of pupils may not match, as a change in a pupil’s category within the same term results in them being counted separately under each category. For example, if a pupil receives multiple suspensions while classified as not having SEN, and then receives additional suspensions after being reclassified as receiving SEN support during the same term, they will be recorded as two separate enrolments in the data.

Data source

Exclusions (from primary school) Number in Kingston upon Thames % in Kingston upon Thames2 % National2
Total number of pupils excluded 0 0.0% 0.0%
Pupils eligible for free school meals 0 0.0% 0.0%
Pupils with SEND 0 0.0% 0.1%

Data source

Exclusions (from secondary school) Number in Kingston upon Thames % in Kingston upon Thames2 % National2
Total number of pupils excluded 2 0.0% 0.1%
Pupils eligible for free school meals 2 0.1% 0.2%
Pupils with SEND 2 0.1% 0.3%

Data source

Exclusions (from special school) Number in Kingston upon Thames % in Kingston upon Thames2 % National2
Total number of pupils excluded 0 0.0% 0.0%
Pupils eligible for free school meals 0 0.0% 0.0%
Pupils with SEND 0 0.0% 0.0%

1. % of all children in Kingston upon Thames / England.

2. % of all pupils in state-funded settings across Kingston upon Thames / England.

3. Rate per 100 pupils in state-funded settings across Kingston upon Thames / England.

Further education and skills

Population Number in Kingston upon Thames % in Kingston upon Thames % National
Aged 16 to 18 years 6,325 3.7% 3.6%
Aged 19 to 21 years 6,761 3.9% 3.6%
Aged 22 to 24 years 7,008 4.1% 3.6%
Aged 25 years and over 119,754 69.3% 70.8%

Data source

Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) Number in Kingston upon Thames % in Kingston upon Thames % National
16- to 17-year-olds known to LA 3,815 2.5% 2.4%
NEET 37 1.0% 3.4%
Activity not known 18 0.5% 2.2%
Total NEET or activity not known 55 1.4% 5.6%

Data source

16 to 18 progression to higher education or training % in Kingston upon Thames % National
Degrees (all) 71.0% 66.0%
Degrees at top third higher education institutions 31.0% 24.0%
Higher apprenticeships 2.0% 2.0%
Other study at level 4 and 5 3.0% 3.0%
Progressing to higher education or training 75.0% 70.0%
More details about the further education and skills destinations data

This data reflects the destinations of pupils based on the number on roll when they were aged 16 to 18, tracking where they progressed after completing their studies.

Degree destinations include any study at level 6 or higher such as bachelor degrees, graduate diplomas, and post-graduate degrees. The top third higher education institutions when ranked by average UCAS tariff score of entrants across their best 3 A levels.

Higher apprenticeships are those from level 4 to 7 and are equivalent to a foundation degree and above. Degree apprenticeships are available at levels 6 and 7.

Other study at level 4 or 5 destinations include those students studying qualifications such as foundation degrees, Higher National Certificates (HNCs) and Higher National Diplomas (HNDs).

Data source

Social care

Explore the findings from Ofsted's local authority inspections.

Explore population characteristics for this local authority.