Christ Church CofE Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Short inspection of Christ Church C of E Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 28 November 2018, I write on behalf of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in March 2015.

This school continues to be good. The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You have strengthened your leadership team, and this is paying dividends.

Leaders know their areas of responsibility really well and are clear about their accountabilities. They use their accurate understanding of strengths and... areas of weakness to drive improvements. Leaders have shared good practice with other schools and the local authority.

Together they evaluate their work and put in place effective actions for improvement. This has resulted in strong outcomes for pupils in the last three years, particularly in reading and mathematics. The school has successfully addressed the areas for further development identified at the previous inspection.

You have worked with other schools to identify effective practice in Key Stage 1 and in the early years foundation stage. You have focused on training and resources to improve the teaching of phonics. As a result, the proportion of pupils meeting the expected standard in the phonics screening check has been above national average over the last three years.

Also, the proportion of pupils meeting expected standards in reading, writing and mathematics has been above national average in key stage 1. However, while outcomes at the end of key stage 2 are strong in reading and mathematics, they are not as strong in writing. Pupils are polite, friendly and provide visitors with a warm welcome.

They display high standards of behaviour in and out of lessons. Pupils' attitudes to learning are very positive, and they work hard. They say that they like coming to school because they enjoy learning.

They appreciate the wide range of resources and equipment that are available to support their learning. Pupils are confident and articulate when talking about their work or expressing their views and ideas. You encourage parents to engage with their children's learning, and you have explored ways in which this can be improved, including providing workshops for parents.

Parents of children in the early years are encouraged to follow, and contribute to, their child's progress through their 'challenge learning journals'. Parents' entries in these journals are proving to be significant in identifying how children have developed their learning at home, which teachers use to inform their planning for learning. Governors possess a range of skills and experience that enable them to be effective in the challenge and support that they provide to school leaders.

They understand the strengths and weaknesses of the school and carefully monitor the actions of school leaders and the impact that these are having on pupils' outcomes. They are highly reflective, and they offer sharp and timely challenge to school leaders. Safeguarding is effective.

The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. Records are detailed and of high quality. Staff know the school's procedures well.

Any concerns are followed up quickly in order to make sure that pupils are supported and safe. Staff are persistent in ensuring that vulnerable pupils and families receive the support they need. You work with a range of outside agencies to ensure the safety of the pupils.

Leaders make sure that staff receive up-to-date training and are aware of the most recent safeguarding advice. This has included training which covers issues such as female genital mutilation and the 'Prevent' duty to safeguard pupils from radicalisation and extremism. Members of the governing body have made sure that they are also well informed about current safeguarding guidance.

Pupils said that they feel safe in school and they know that they can share any concerns with their teachers. They talked knowledgeably about safety procedures, including what they have to do in cases of lockdown or when a fire breaks out, for example. The school promotes safety in various ways.

For example, there are regular visits from the police. The most recent work that has been carried out has been in relation to 'stranger danger', water safety and the potential dangers of the internet. Inspection findings ? During our initial discussions, we agreed to look at the early years as our first key line of enquiry.

This was because, over the last three years, the proportion of children who achieved a good level of development has been consistently above the national average. ? Children achieve well in the early years. Teachers have developed a culture that promotes and fosters children's love of reading.

Staff use effective strategies for teaching phonics and early reading skills. Children acquire strong knowledge of phonics, and they apply this when they are engaged in reading and writing activities. They make equally strong progress in mathematics as they are provided with plenty of opportunities to develop their understanding of numbers and shapes.

• Children in the early years are confident and articulate. They are able to initiate a learning activity and finish it whether or not they have adult support. For example, without the need for adult intervention, a group of children combined equipment from both the water and construction areas to recreate scenes from a book they had been reading.

• Adults provide well targeted support to extend children's learning, and children respond positively to challenges that adults pose. For example, children extend their communication skills in response to adults' strong modelling of language. Their accurate pencil grips reflect adults' focus on the development of fine motor skills, and this enables them to achieve some fluency in their writing.

• Secondly, we looked at writing across the school. This was because pupils' progress by the end of Year 6 has been below average for the last two years. Despite this, their attainment has been above average overall, and it suggests that they should have been reaching higher standards, particularly disadvantaged pupils.

• In key stage 1, pupils are given opportunities to practise and consolidate their writing skills. Teachers encourage them to be ambitious in their writing, and pupils respond positively. They apply their phonics knowledge to spell difficult or unfamiliar words and experiment with new vocabulary.

They often write extensively, using accurate spelling, grammar and punctuation. ? In key stage 2, teachers support pupils to ensure that they are using more complex sentences when writing. They are encouraged to check their work regularly to ensure that grammar, spelling and punctuation are accurate.

This enables more pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, to meet the expected standard in writing. However, pupils' work shows that there has been insufficient challenge through extended writing tasks and, as a consequence, the proportion of pupils reaching the greater depth standard is not as high as it should be. ? Finally, we looked at how pupils are supported to acquire knowledge and skills across the wider curriculum.

This was because we wanted to ascertain whether pupils achieve equally well in other subjects as they do in English and mathematics. ? Leaders have implemented a rich, well-thought-out curriculum. It enables pupils to acquire strong knowledge and skills across subjects.

In history, for example, pupils develop a strong understanding of chronology as they study historical events in detail. In geography, pupils demonstrated a deep understanding of both land and water features, showing strong progress in the development of knowledge and skills. Pupils express enjoyment of the arts.

They are supported effectively to produce art work using different media and techniques. For example, pupils applied their understanding of colour, sculpture and structure as they create Rangoli patterns using beans, rice, flour and coloured chalk. ? Pupils achieve well in science, and they develop knowledge and understanding of biology, chemistry and physics.

For example, Year 6 pupils showed understanding of how the human body works as they undertook an in-depth study of the circulatory system. Teachers ensure that pupils develop scientific skills by providing them with opportunities to design, carry out and evaluate fair tests. However, pupils do not have the same good opportunities to develop their creative, technical and practical expertise in design and technology.

Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that: ? pupils are stretched and challenged through extended writing tasks so that a higher proportion of them achieve the greater depth standard by the end of key stage 2 ? pupils get ample opportunities to develop their creative, technical and practical expertise in design and technology. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the director of education for the Diocese of Southwark, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children's services for Kingston upon Thames. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

Yours sincerely Edison David Ofsted Inspector Information about the inspection During this inspection, I discussed the work of the school with you and with members of the senior leadership team. I spoke to pupils to discuss their experiences in lessons, the extent to which they feel safe, and their views on learning and behaviour. I held discussions with a representative of the local authority.

I considered 140 responses to Ofsted's parent survey, 30 responses to the staff survey, and 147 responses to the pupils' survey. I met with governors, including the chair of the governing body. I also considered documentation provided by the school and information posted on the school's website.

I looked at the single central record of staff suitability checks, and the school's analysis of pupils' attendance. Together with school leaders, I visited classes to observe learning and looked at samples of pupils' work across all subjects. I listened to pupils read from across the ability range.