Christ Church Church of England Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils receive a broad curriculum which is supported with visits and experiences that bring their learning to life.

For example, pupils enjoy the outdoor learning opportunities which build towards a residential. They say that these activities help them to get along with each other and to work successfully as a team.

Many pupils achieve well in English and mathematics by the time they leave Year 6.

However, pupils who are struggling to learn to read are not receiving effective enough support to help them catch up quickly. This hampers them from being able to reading with the fluency needed to access their learning in different subjects.

Some teaching ...activities are not appropriately matched to pupils' needs.

When this is the case, pupils are fidgety and lack focus and attention. Positive attitudes to learning have not been established quickly enough when pupils start school in Reception. However, most pupils throughout school are polite and behave well.

Pupils say that bullying is rare because staff look after them and keep them safe. They know how to report any concerns. Leaders make sure that any report of bullying is followed up appropriately.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school has experienced a period of considerable change since its last inspection. Teaching is not consistently effective. It has been affected by staffing and leadership instability.

The current leadership structure is too limited. Important responsibilities, such as leading the early years or phonics, are not allocated or have temporary leadership arrangements in place. Governors have not acted swiftly enough to address the school's leadership arrangements.

This is hindering leaders' capacity to work on the areas for improvement with greater urgency.

Leaders have reviewed the curriculum in all subjects. Some subjects, such as personal, social and health education (PSHE) and mathematics are further developed.

In other subjects, plans do not always break down the curriculum goals into smaller steps. This makes it difficult for staff to teach the curriculum effectively. They are unclear about precisely what knowledge pupils need to secure or how it builds on their prior learning and prepares them for what is coming next.

Leadership of early reading is not well developed. The English leader and headteacher are temporarily sharing the role in the absence of a phonics leader. Phonics is taught from the start of Reception.

However, sessions are very short. They provide little time for pupils to recap previous learning and to practise newly acquired knowledge. Staff lack the expertise to make sure that activities are focused well enough on the intended learning.

For example, pupils who needed to practise blending only had one word to read and wasted valuable time waiting for their turn.

Staff know which pupils are struggling to learn to read. These pupils, including some with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are not receiving enough extra help to make sure they catch up quickly.

The books they read are not closely matched to their phonics knowledge. It means they rely on other strategies, such as guessing by using the pictures, to read unfamiliar words. This is knocking their confidence and slowing down the rate of their improvement.

Pupils are enjoying the new approach to English, which is often centred around a high-quality text. This is helping many pupils to take a greater interest in reading. However, by the time they enter Year 3, some pupils have not learned to read with enough fluency.

The gap between them and other pupils widens.

Pupils with SEND are included well with their peers. The SENCo checks the effect of strategies used to support pupils' development and independence.

She makes effective use of external support when necessary. Suitable interventions are in place. For example, pupils are introduced to mathematical language and concepts they will need to use later in class.

However, support for pupils' reading is not as well structured. It happens on a more ad-hoc basis and so has less impact.

Pupils understand the positive behaviour system.

It helps them to make the right behaviour choices most of the time. However, in lessons, particularly for younger pupils, too many pupils are not focused. Staff do not insist on this and it impacts on pupils' learning.

Over time, leaders have paid close attention to pupils' personal development. A link with a school in Zimbabwe gives pupils real-life opportunities to learn about global issues such as waste. Learning about different religions and British values prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain.

Pupils enjoy having responsibilities, such as being a digital leader. Staff use their mental health training to support pupils' well-being effectively.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders have created a strong culture of keeping pupils safe. Staff receive regular training which helps them to be alert to possible signs of concern. Reports of concerns are recorded appropriately and are followed up with rigour so that pupils are protected from harm and get the help they need.

Leaders are aware of the risks which pupils and families in the local area may face. They make sure that the curriculum addresses these issues well. For example, pupils learn about how to stay safe on the internet.

Information about online safety is also shared with parents and carers.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

The school's leadership structure needs urgent attention. Several leadership roles are shared or have temporary arrangements.

There are too few leaders and they have too many responsibilities and not enough time to carry them out effectively. Leaders are at the early stages of checking the implementation and impact of the curriculum. This is slowing the pace of the school's improvement.

Governors need to establish an effective leadership structure which provides greater capacity for leaders to check the impact of their actions on improving pupils' understanding in different subjects. . The curriculum for early reading, including phonics, is not effective enough.

Pupils who fall behind are not receiving enough support to help them catch up quickly. Too many pupils in key stage 2 are not reading with age-appropriate fluency and remain on the early stages of the reading scheme. Leaders need to make sure that sufficient time is given to phonics teaching.

They should make sure that all staff have the expertise to teach phonics well. Pupils who fall behind need to receive more formalised support. The books they read should match their phonics knowledge.

In key stage 2, leaders need to make sure that there is greater attention to developing reading fluency, so that all pupils are able to read with understanding and access learning to the full, across the curriculum. . In some subjects, the curriculum has not been considered in enough detail.

This leaves teachers unsure about the precise knowledge and skills which pupils need to secure. Leaders need to make sure that curricular goals are broken down into smaller steps to support staff in understanding what pupils need to learn and when. Leaders should check how effective the curriculum is in developing pupils' understanding.

They should make sure that the curriculum is being implemented successfully and that staff have the necessary expertise to make appropriate activity choices. . Some staff do not have high enough expectations of pupils' behaviour for learning.

This is not developed well when children begin school in Reception. Leaders need to make sure that all staff have consistently high expectations of pupils' behaviour for learning and the quality of work they produce. Close attention should be paid to basic skills such as pen grip, letter formation and handwriting so that pupils produce work which they can take pride in.