Christ Church Church of England Primary School

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Victoria Wainwright and Claire Harrison Headteachers Christ Church Church of England Primary School 45 Commerell Street London SE10 0DZ

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Short inspection of Christ Church Church of England Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 10 January 2017, 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 2013.

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Short inspection of Christ Church Church of England Primary School

Since the last inspection the school has joined the Koinonia federation. Leaders at all levels have worked together to ensure a smooth transition and the partnership is proving to be successful. As co-headteachers, you have settled into your roles quickly and provided motivating leadership based on a clear vision for the school. School leaders and governors all have an accurate understanding of the school’s current position and know what needs to be done to improve further. Leaders are ambitious and at the same time committed to ensuring that the school is a happy place; pupils are at the heart of everything the school does. Parents and carers support the leadership team and are consistently positive about the school.

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Short inspection of Christ Church Church of England Primary School

Leaders have ensured that staff across the federation work collaboratively to share leadership, expertise, planning and good practice. As a result, pupils of all abilities continue to make good progress across all key stages in reading, writing and mathematics. Disadvantaged pupils’ progress is as good as that of other pupils nationally. The creative curriculum is well organised and gives pupils opportunities to learn a wide range of subjects. Governors share the vision of the school leaders, challenging them appropriately. They value the strong leadership in the school and appreciate that the school has maintained its identity.

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Short inspection of Christ Church Church of England Primary School

Staff continue to work on the recommendations that were made in the last inspection report but they know there is still more to do. The quality of teaching and learning continues to be a focus for the leadership team in their drive to be outstanding. There is still work to do in ensuring more pupils, including the most able disadvantaged pupils, are stretched to achieve the highest standards in reading, writing and mathematics.

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Short inspection of Christ Church Church of England Primary School

The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and records are detailed and of high quality. Leaders and governors ensure that the appropriate checks are carried out on all staff. All staff and governors have received up-to-date training, including, for example, the ‘Prevent’ duty and child sexual exploitation. They know what action to take should any safeguarding concerns arise. Records are detailed and carefully track every staff concern and any communication with external agencies. Staff follow up concerns swiftly and effectively. Work with external partners is strong and leads to carefully selected strategies to support pupils and their families.

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Short inspection of Christ Church Church of England Primary School

Pupils feel safe in school. They feel confident that they can talk to teachers about any problems or use the ‘worry box’ in each classroom. Advice for pupils helps to raise their awareness of how to stay safe, including online, and how to deal with cyberbullying. Pupils and parents say that any instances of bullying are very rare and that the teachers act quickly to resolve any problems that may occur.

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Inspection findings

 Progress in all key stage 2 subjects is in line with national averages. Comparatively, though, the outcomes in 2016 for pupils’ attainment at the end of Year 6 were weaker in reading than they were in mathematics and writing. Leaders had already identified improvements in reading as a priority. For this reason, we agreed that this would be a key line of enquiry for inspection.  I found a sharp focus on developing reading across the school. ‘Drop everything and read’ sessions are a regular part of the school day. Pupils talk enthusiastically about books and use the newly improved library more regularly. Support assistants and volunteers offer individual support to less-able pupils and these pupils are growing in confidence as a result. School leaders hold workshops to encourage more parents and carers to engage with reading, but there is variation in the standard of reading record books. With pupil premium funding, staff have

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Inspection findings

purchased higher-level texts which teachers have begun to use to good effect in some classes.  The school is working hard and with impact to improve standards in reading. Current performance information indicates that progress and levels of attainment in reading are improving. Teachers guide pupils to read a wider range of higher- level texts. Pupils and staff say that the developments have also led to a greater enjoyment of reading.  The second key line of enquiry we agreed to consider was attendance and persistent absence. While attendance overall has remained steady in the last three years, absence for some groups of pupils was significantly above average in 2016. Disadvantaged pupils’ absence was in the highest 10% nationally. Staff monitor attendance weekly and analyse the figures to identify any worrying trends of absence. The home-school link worker works closely with the leadership team and puts strategies in place to work with pupils and families. This involves

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Inspection findings

better communication with parents and carers, planned and unplanned home visits and good links with external agencies. Attendance figures have improved and are now above the national average.  Leaders are determined to improve the rate of persistent absence and have made inroads into this. Persistent absence is still relatively high, although it is much reduced due to these ongoing interventions. The attendance team works tirelessly to ensure that parents and carers get the support they need if attendance is a concern.  The school has undergone significant changes in leadership and management since joining the federation. Therefore, we agreed to consider the impact of this as another key line of enquiry.  Everyone I spoke to during the inspection was overwhelmingly positive about the improvements in leadership and management. As co-headteachers, you are highly respected and your hard work is valued. You have been proactive in

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Inspection findings

developing the leadership skills of current staff. The well-organised structure of the federation allows leaders to use staff from partner schools to meet the needs of pupils. The governors of all partner schools have joined to form one overarching governing body. This has led to more shared practice, the pooling of skills and clearly defined roles.  It is clear that leadership at all levels has strengthened since the last inspection. School leaders, managers and governors are united in their ambition to make this an outstanding school.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 they build on the developments in reading so that more pupils attain higher levels in reading at the end of key stage 2  levels of challenge are consistently high in lessons  the attendance levels of those who are frequently absent improves even further.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body and the director of children’s services for Greenwich. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

The inspector agreed to prioritise the following areas with the school at the start of the inspection:

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Information about the inspection

 What is the school doing to raise attainment in reading at key stage 2 for all pupils, including disadvantaged pupils?  What has the school done to reduce rates of persistent absence to ensure that no pupils are disadvantaged by poor attendance? How does the school know they are safe when pupils are not at school?  What has been the impact of the federation on leadership and management within the school?

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Information about the inspection

The inspector carried out the following activities to explore these areas during the inspection:

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Information about the inspection

 meetings with you and the deputy headteacher  meeting with the leaders for safeguarding and the home-school link worker, including a review of documentation linked to safeguarding  meeting with the phase leaders  a discussion with five governors, including the co-chair of the governing body  a meeting with a representative from the local authority  visits to all classes to observe teaching and look at pupils’ work, with a focus on reading  a discussion with pupils from different year groups  conversations with pupils in lessons and sampling reading record books  evaluation of recent information about pupils’ academic outcomes and attendance figures  listening to pupils read in Year 3 and Year 4  analysing the responses to the Ofsted questionnaires from 37 pupils, eight members of staff and nine parents.

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