Christ Church Cep Academy, Folkestone

Inspection of Christ Church Cep Academy, Folkestone Brockman Road, Folkestone, Kent CT20 1DJ

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Inspection dates: 30 November and 1 December 2022

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 30 November and 1 December 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils thrive in the purposeful and caring atmosphere. They are very happy at school. Parents are extremely supportive. Typical views were summed up by a comment from one parent by saying, ‘The staff seem like one happy family. They create a fun, warm, safe, environment for the children to come to and feel happy and secure.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy learning. Staff always support and encourage them. Everyone is included, treated equally and fairly and pupils say, ‘that’s how it should be’. Leaders’ expectations are high and pupils live up to the school motto of ‘striving to be the best version of ourselves every day’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe. Bullying does not worry pupils. They know that any issues will be quickly addressed by staff. Staff know pupils very well. There are positive, trusting relationships. Pupils appreciate what they call, ‘a nice environment for learning’. They say they are lucky to have a swimming pool, a prayer garden and ‘a bunch of people to talk to’ if they have any worries. Pupils get on well together and value the friendships they make. They behave very well and are polite and respectful. They demonstrate the school values of friendship, thankfulness, forgiveness and hope.

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better?

The school’s curriculum is carefully considered and sequenced. It is broad and equally ambitious for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) as it is for others. Staff are quick to identify the needs of pupils with SEND and they are supported well. Pupils’ positive attitudes and very good behaviour helps them learn well. The curriculum builds pupils’ knowledge securely, particularly in English and mathematics. In a few subjects, however, activities and work are not always as well matched as they could be to the knowledge and skills that teachers know pupils need to learn.

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better?

Staff feel valued and supported by leaders. Leaders and governors are committed to staff’s professional development and their well-being. Staff work well as a dedicated team. Subject leaders are skilled and staff benefit from their expertise. Teachers use their good subject knowledge to explain new content well to pupils. They engage pupils well in discussions and check their understanding. This information is used effectively to identify any learning gaps.

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better?

Leaders’ focus on developing pupils’ communication and speech and language skills. In all subjects, from Reception onwards, there is a strong emphasis on enriching pupils’ vocabulary. In mathematics, for example, repetition and use of correct language helps children in Reception explore numbers. Older pupils’ use of mathematical terminology helps them respond well to teachers’ challenging questions. This helps to deepen pupils’ thinking and mathematical understanding. 30 November and 1 December 2022

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Leaders have ensured that reading is a priority. Phonics teaching is extremely efficiently organised and taught well. Children in Reception start to learn phonics straight away. Pupils quickly learn letters and the sounds they make. Leaders and staff assess pupils accurately. They provide additional sessions for any pupils who struggle, to help them catch up quickly. Pupils read and take books home that match the sounds that they know.

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Teachers encourage pupils to develop a love of reading. Children in Reception enjoy listening to stories and rhymes and singing songs. Teachers use a wide range of texts to help pupils build their knowledge and enjoyment of reading. Pupils are encouraged and challenged to read widely and frequently, at school and at home. They develop as confident, fluent readers with skills to access the wider curriculum.

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Books that teachers share with pupils are carefully chosen. They often promote pupils’ awareness and discussion of issues, such as cultural diversity, equality and difference. Pupils gained enormously from the opportunity to meet and question the author of the book ‘The Boy at the Back of the Class’. They discuss issues around refugees, and the importance of friendship and kindness.

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Leaders and governors are determined and unwavering in their work to make sure that all pupils are getting the best learning, social and cultural experiences. Many parents agreed with one who said, ‘The school go above and beyond to provide extra-curricular activities and fun events for the children.’

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Senior leaders have identified where overall improvements are needed. However, in a very few areas, they have not clearly pinpointed precisely what needs to be done to make these improvements. For example, the checks on some of the targets for pupils with SEND, who have higher levels of need, and the impact of the curriculum in the early years, lack a sharp focus.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

There is a strong culture of safeguarding at this school. Pupils’ well-being and safety are priorities for everyone. Staff know pupils very well and so are quick to spot any signs that a child may be at risk of harm. Staff are well trained. Leaders make sure that staff know exactly what to do if they have a concern. Leaders ensure that swift action is taken and pupils get the help they need to stay safe. They seek support from specialist agencies, where appropriate. Record keeping is thorough. Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe, including when online. 30 November and 1 December 2022

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a few foundation subjects, activities and work are not always well-matched to the intended curriculum. As a result, pupils are not building their knowledge as securely as they could. Leaders need to ensure that learning activities are consistently well matched to the intended learning and reflect the school’s ambitious curriculum. Leaders should ensure that all teachers know how to translate the curriculum thinking into high-quality learning, so that pupils achieve consistently highly.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to 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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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. 30 November and 1 December 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10227485 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 26 June 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Since the previous inspection, there is a new senior leadership team. The headteacher has been in post since September 2020.  As a Church of England school, Christ Church Cep Academy is part of the Diocese of Canterbury. Its most recent section 48 inspection was in November 2019.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspectors met with the headteacher, the deputy and assistant headteachers, the special educational needs coordinator, other leaders and staff. 30 November and 1 December 2022

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 An inspector met with members of the governing body, including the chair and vice-chair.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, history, computing and music. For each deep dive, inspectors met with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, talked to some pupils and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspectors also looked at curriculum information in some other subjects and observed some pupils reading to teaching assistants.  To inspect safeguarding, inspectors spoke with leaders, staff and pupils. An inspector looked at the single central record of recruitment checks and safeguarding records. Throughout the inspection, inspectors considered and checked the culture of safeguarding within the school.  Inspectors reviewed a range of documentation, including the school development plan and the school’s own evaluation of its effectiveness.

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 Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons, in the playground and around the school. They talked to pupils formally and informally about their learning, what behaviour is like and whether they feel safe in school.  The inspectors considered the responses from Ofsted’s online surveys for staff and parents, spoke to some parents at the beginning of the school day and looked at the school’s own recent survey for parents.

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Inspection team

Margaret Coussins, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

James Freeston Ofsted Inspector 30 November and 1 December 2022

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