Christ Church CofE (C) Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Christ Church CofE (C) Primary School Christ Church Lane, Lichfield, Staffordshire WS13 8AY

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Outcome

Christ Church CofE (C) Primary School continues to be a good school. There is enough evidence of improved performance to suggest that the school could be judged outstanding if the inspector was to carry out a section 5 inspection now. The school’s next inspection will be a section 5 inspection.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils who attend Christ Church School flourish both academically and socially. Staff teach pupils the Christian values of respect, care and responsibility from when children start in Reception. As a result, the school is calm. Pupils say they are happy at school and love their learning. When asked what they like about the school, they say, ‘Everything!’

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has a family feel. It is warm and caring. This care starts in the morning when staff greet pupils with a warm smile. Pupils are not worried about bullying. On the odd occasion that pupils are unkind to each other, pupils say that staff sort it out quickly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders want pupils to do the best they can. This means in their schoolwork and their personal development. Pupils achieve these high expectations. Leaders give pupils various roles and responsibilities. This includes being a member of the school council, the junior leadership team or a learning ambassador. Pupils raise money for charity. These special responsibilities help pupils develop into respectful, active citizens.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils speak with enthusiasm about the extra experiences the school offers them. This includes trips to the theatre, a local farm, the cathedral and residential visits.

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

Pupils study a full range of subjects. All pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), access all subjects. Learning is well planned and sequenced. Subject leaders from different key stages plan together. This means that pupils build on what they know year on year. In history, for example, pupils in Year 3 can remember what they learned in Years 1 and 2 about the impact that thinkers in the past had on the world today. They use this knowledge well to link this previous learning with their current topic about Ancient Greek thinkers. However, leaders recognise that more 7 and 8 June 2022

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time is needed in a few subjects for plans to be fully embedded so that pupils achieve the same depth of understanding across all subjects.

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Staff have excellent subject knowledge. They use a wide range of resources and activities in lessons. The learning environment is purposeful. Consequently, pupils find learning fun, and they learn a lot in lessons.

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Children get off to a strong start in Reception. Staff have a secure understanding of how to meet their needs and interests. Children are highly engaged in their learning. They have daily phonics lessons. There is a sharp focus on developing their understanding of number. This continues into Year 1.

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Leaders ensure that reading is a high priority. Displays in the school corridors encourage pupils to read books from different authors. Every classroom has a dedicated reading area. Authors visit the school, and staff reward pupils for reading. This includes pupils being able to choose a book from the school’s book-vending machine. Pupils value these opportunities and are enthusiastic about reading.

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There is an effective reading programme in place. This starts in Reception class. All staff receive regular training in reading. Leaders regularly check how well pupils are doing and are quick to put the necessary help into place for those who need it. This includes extra help from a specialist teaching assistant for reading. As a result, pupils develop the skills needed to become confident, fluent readers.

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Staff know pupils well. They provide effective support to pupils with SEND. Leaders make sure staff have detailed information about pupils’ needs and how they can meet these needs in class. Staff use this information effectively. Pupils with SEND achieve well.

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Pupils’ behaviour and attitudes are exemplary. They have high levels of respect for each other and their environment. Pupils attend school regularly. They are highly committed to their learning and take pride in their work.

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Leaders promote pupils’ personal development well. For example, pupils learn how to keep themselves healthy. Year 1 pupils can explain why ‘eating too much chocolate is bad for you!’ At breaktime and lunchtime, pupils keep themselves physically active by playing games, using the outdoor gym equipment or climbing on the monkey bars.

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All staff speak highly of the support they get from leaders. This includes extra training in areas of interest. Staff also shared many examples of how leaders have supported them with both professional and personal issues. Staff’s morale is high.

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Governors are ambitious for what the school and its pupils can achieve. They provide leaders with an appropriate balance of challenge and support. For example, they asked leaders how they make sure that children in Reception are being challenged in their work.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 7 and 8 June 2022

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There is a strong safeguarding culture in the school. Staff take pupils’ welfare seriously. Leaders provide all staff with regular training. Staff report concerns confident in the knowledge that leaders will deal with them effectively. Leaders make sure that the appropriate recruitment checks are completed on all adults who work at, or visit, the school.

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Pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe through lessons and worship. This includes e-safety. Leaders help parents and carers to keep their children safe by giving them information and advice. For example, they share guidance about how to apply parental controls on electronic devices. Pupils say they feel safe. Parents agree.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Pupils remember long term the content they have been taught and apply this to new learning more effectively in some foundation subjects than others. Leaders should embed curriculum planning across all foundation subjects to ensure that pupils remember, long term, the content they have been taught so they can integrate new knowledge into larger ideas.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called a section 8 inspection of a good or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in March 2017.

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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How can I feed back my views?

If you are the school and you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted . 7 and 8 June 2022

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 7 and 8 June 2022

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.christchurch-lichfield.staffs.sch.uk/

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School details

Date of previous inspection 28 February and 1 March 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Since the last inspection, a new deputy headteacher, a new assistant headteacher, a new upper school leader and a new lower school leader have been appointed.  The school uses one registered alternative provision.  The school provides wraparound care.  The school is within the diocese of Lichfield. Its most recent section 48 inspection took place in March 2017. Section 48 inspections were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They restarted in September 2021. The next section 48 inspection will be within eight years of the most recent one.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and has taken this into account in her evaluation of the school. 7 and 8 June 2022

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 The inspector met with the headteacher, members of the governing body, including the chair, other leaders, staff and pupils. She spoke to a representative of the diocese on the telephone.  The inspector carried out deep dives in reading, geography and history. For each deep dive, the inspector discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspector talked to pupils at unstructured times during the day.  The inspector evaluated a range of school documents and looked at information on the school’s website.  The inspector checked the single central record and met with the school’s safeguarding leaders.  The inspector reviewed the responses to Ofsted’s staff and pupil questionnaires. She also considered the responses to the online questionnaire, Ofsted Parent View, including free-text responses.

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Inspection team

Lesley Yates, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 7 and 8 June 2022

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regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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