St Christopher’s RC Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils flourish at this happy and harmonious school.

They are immensely proud to be part of such a caring and welcoming learning community. Pupils live and breathe the school's vision and values in all that they say and do. They are happy and very well cared for by staff.

The school has an unwavering ambition for its pupils in terms of their academic achievement and their wider personal development. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and or disabilities (SEND), work hard and strive to meet these high expectations. Typically, pupils achieve well across a range of subjects and particularly well in reading, writing and mathematics.

Pupils ben...efit from an impressive array of events, trips and activities to spark their interest and enthusiasm for learning. Pupils contribute extremely well to their school and the wider community. They behave impeccably and have beautiful manners.

The school's work to develop pupils' character is exceptional. Pupils show resilience and perseverance in all that they do. They know that sometimes making mistakes can be a good thing.

For example, pupils told inspectors, 'Getting things wrong makes you strong.'

The vast majority of parents and carers, who shared their views with inspectors, were overwhelmingly positive in their praise of how the school helps their children to learn and grow. Parents greatly value the wealth of opportunities that the school provides.

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

The school has the highest ambition for its curriculum. Reading is at the front and centre of pupils' learning journey. As soon as children join the early years, they get off to a flying start.

Children listen intently as staff share the magic of stories with them. Children enjoy joining in with much-loved songs and rhymes. They eagerly look forward to their phonics lessons.

Children make strong progress through the early years curriculum.

The school wastes no time in rapidly spotting any pupils in danger of falling behind with the phonics programme. Staff provide timely and effective support.

Pupils read confidently from books which are very well matched to the sounds that they have learned in class. Older pupils spoke enthusiastically about their reading. They read with strong understanding and confidence.

Pupils very much enjoy their roles as school librarians and reading buddies to younger children.

In most subjects in key stages 1 and 2, the school has also successfully designed curriculums to support pupils to build on their prior learning. In these subjects, the school has chosen carefully the key content that pupils will learn.

Pupils learn new knowledge in logical, bitesize chunks from the Nursery class to the end of Year 6. Consequently, most pupils are prepared well for the next stage of their education.Staff skilfully impart new knowledge to pupils.

They make careful checks to ensure that pupils' misunderstandings are quickly picked up. Teachers use this information well to adapt the delivery of the curriculum to ensure that pupils' learning is secure. In reading, writing and mathematics, pupils consistently outperform their peers nationally in statutory tests and assessments.

In a few other subjects, the school has not ensured that pupils develop a sufficiently strong body of knowledge and skills over time. Furthermore, some teachers do not check that pupils have a secure understanding of essential topics and concepts. This hinders some pupils' ability to make links with previous learning and to build on what they know already.

The school's work to enhance pupils' understanding of the wider world is of the highest quality. For example, the school capitalises on the wealth of opportunities available within the local area, and further afield, to broaden pupils' minds and raise their aspirations for the future.

Pupils have a deep understanding of diversity and difference.

Pupils' knowledge of fundamental British values is highly impressive. During discussions with inspectors, pupils spoke with maturity and sensitivity about why they should be respectful and tolerant towards people of diverse backgrounds, cultures and lifestyles.

Pupils understand why it is important to have rules and routines as part of school life.

Children in the early years respond extremely well to their teachers and relish making them proud. Older pupils care for each other well. They listen with sustained concentration, to their teachers and to each other, during their lessons each day.

Pupils benefit from a vast array of opportunities to make a sustained and valued contribution to both their school and the wider community. For example, they regularly fundraise for charity. Pupils are exceptionally well prepared for life in modern Britain.

Governors have a secure knowledge of the school. They use their wide range of skills to support and challenge the school to improve the quality of education that pupils receive. Staff are extremely proud to work at the school.

They very much appreciate the school's open-door approach. They value the decisions that the school has taken to support their workload and well-being.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, the school has not ensured that some pupils develop the depth of knowledge that they should. This prevents these pupils from making secure connections between different topics and concepts in these subjects. The school should ensure that, in these subjects, pupils are supported well to gain a rich body of knowledge over time.