Christ The King Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy at this caring and inclusive school. The atmosphere is calm and cheerful. Pupils behave well in lessons and are enthusiastic about their learning.

Teachers do a good job of helping them learn. Pupils are kind and thoughtful to each other. Different views, cultures and opinions are respected.

Adults act as excellent role models. Pupils speak of how they debate issues such as the big bang theory. However, some pupils lack an understanding of vocabulary such as democracy and respect even though they are clearly promoted every day.

Some pupils have missed learning and experiences during the pandemic. Staff have planned a curriculum to help pupils... catch up quickly. Pupils know that there are adults they can speak to if they have any worries or concerns.

Adults check and respond to the 'worry box' daily. Pupils feel listened to and cared for. Adults take any behaviour or comments that could cause offence seriously.

Leaders make sure that there are strong links between school and home. Parents say that 'Christ the King Catholic Primary is not just a school; it's a family'.

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

There has been significant change in staffing at all levels since the predecessor school was closed.

The current leadership is strong and has a clear vision for this school. The trust directors have a clear strategic plan for supporting Christ the King school in its journey to excellence. They are beginning to improve the sharing of excellence and increase the collaborative working between the schools that have formed this relatively new trust.

Staff in the school feel extremely well supported by senior leaders and their colleagues.

Ensuring that pupils learn to read with confidence and enjoyment is a priority. Pupils speak of how they can pop into the library whenever they need to and select from a wide range of books.

All staff have received training in teaching phonics. Pupils learn to read well through a systematic process as soon as they join the early years class. Older pupils who have struggled to perfect the skill of reading are supported well so that resources continue to match their needs.

The mathematics and English curriculums have been planned well. Leaders have planned these curriculums to ensure that pupils know what they are learning, and that learning is sequential. As with reading, staff have been well trained.

Pupils told inspectors how there are regular opportunities to complete quick revisions of knowledge at the beginning of lessons which help them become more confident at recalling information.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported well. Pupils' individual needs are addressed as required, sometimes through resources, such as writing slopes, along with support from adults in the room.

The special educational needs coordinator works with the inclusion team staff and outside agencies to make sure pupils needs are met well. During the pandemic, some pupils with SEND have been supported with home visits and daily catch ups when they have been unable to come to school. Parents of pupils with SEND are included in many aspects of their child's education.

However, some parents fed back in Ofsted's Parent View that they felt that communication could sometimes be better. Senior and middle leaders are eager to improve this communication, so parents have confidence in the provision their child is receiving.

Leaders of the foundation subjects, for example art and history, plan so that pupils gain knowledge and skills in these subjects.

Pupils recall facts about different civilisations in history and about different religions from previous learning. However, senior leaders have rightly identified that they need to prioritise the knowledge that pupils need to support their future learning. Some planning focuses purely on skills rather than knowledge.

For example, leaders note in their long-term planning in art that pupils will learn about William Morris, but their planning only details knowledge of pattern making.

Children in the early years had only been in school for a week at the time of the inspection. In this short time, they had settled in well and were playing happily with their new friends.

Teachers place great emphasis on language acquisition and developing a broad vocabulary for these young children. Early years leaders have ensured that all subject leaders know how the early curriculum is dovetailed into the long-term plans for the whole school. Science is the only subject where this long-term plan needs a little more attention to ensure learning in the early years supports learning later in the school.

Leaders recognise how much the pandemic has affected these children and want to ensure that teachers can quickly help them catch up. Children's individual needs, particularly those with SEND are quickly identified.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

A safeguarding team ensures that procedures and routines are firmly embedded to support the needs of pupils and their families. Staff request support from outside agencies in a timely manner when needed. Checks are made on all staff to ensure their suitability to work with pupils.

All staff are aware of the damage that name-calling and harassment can cause to young pupils. They are acutely aware that anything that may cause offence should be dealt with and reported.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Too many pupils do not have an understanding of more complex vocabulary, particularly that pertaining to British values.

Respect, tolerance and democracy are values that are promoted and practised in school. Teachers need to be consistently aspirational in regard to the vocabulary they teach so that pupils develop their vocabulary and understanding over time. A minority of parents of pupils with SEND do not feel their child gets the support they need.

School leaders need to work more closely with parents of pupils with SEND to ensure they understand the curriculum their child is accessing and how well their child is gaining knowledge in different subjects. ? The new interim headteacher has quickly identified that some of the long-term plans for foundation subjects do not clearly identify the knowledge that needs to be taught. This has caused some weaknesses in medium-term planning where key knowledge to be taught and links with future and previous knowledge are not clearly identified and prioritised.

For example, plans of how pupils will build their knowledge of 'empire', 'farming' and 'weather' over time are not clear. Greater clarity is required, such as that seen in the reading and mathematics curriculum. For this reason, the transitional arrangements have been applied.