Church Drive Primary School

Inspection of Church Drive Primary School Church Drive, Port Sunlight, Wirral, Merseyside CH62 5EF

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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 Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Good

Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005 13 and 14 June 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy school and say that they feel safe. They receive a high quality of care from staff. Staff know pupils and their families well. Leaders have cultivated a kind and considerate school community, where people’s differences are celebrated. Pupils trust staff to help them if they have worries or need help with their work.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils work hard and are resilient when work is challenging. They behave well in lessons and most take pride in their work. They enjoy the well-supervised play times. They have lots to do and enjoy playing games with their friends. Bullying is rare and should it happen adults make it stop.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are enthusiastic learners. They enjoy their lessons and talking about their learning. Leaders have high expectation for what pupils can achieve, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children are provided with a flying start to their education in the early years. Most pupils achieve well in the subjects they learn across the school. Pupils enjoy the visitors to the school who support the curriculum and the clubs they attend.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils make an active contribution to school life through the numerous responsibilities they hold. This includes supporting each other with mental health, leading play at breaktimes and raising funds to improve the school’s grounds.

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better?

Across subjects, leaders have thought carefully about the knowledge pupils should learn, including those with SEND. They have designed a curriculum that sets out the order of learning from the early years to Year 6. They have thoughtfully considered how knowledge links together. This helps pupils to build on earlier learning as they progress through the school. Children in the early years are extremely well prepared for key stage 1. Consistently high-quality learning and play enables them to become confident and resilient learners. They learn vocabulary which will help them in the subjects they will learn later in the school.

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better?

In most subjects, pupils talk confidently about what they know and remember. In some subjects, leaders have recently made changes to the curriculum and how subjects are taught. In these subjects, teachers sometimes do not choose the most appropriate activities to enable pupils to learn and remember essential knowledge sufficiently well.

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better?

In the early years, the interactions of skilled staff enable children to make the most of the opportunities provided to them. Leaders have developed the use of assessment strategies across the school to support teachers to check pupils’ understanding and identify any gaps in their knowledge. This enables teachers to recognise pupils’ misconceptions and to adapt future learning to correct them. 13 and 14 June 2023

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Where pupils need extra support to catch up with their peers, it is well planned and carefully delivered. This has enabled the standards achieved by pupils to be improved in reading and writing.

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Leaders prioritise the teaching of reading in the school. Staff are well trained and teach phonics consistently well. This starts in the early years where children learn about the sounds letters make, explore vocabulary and listen to stories and rhymes. A small number of pupils continue to access regular phonic sessions in key stage 2. This enables them to become confident, fluent readers.

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As pupils move through the school, they read high-quality texts. Older pupils enjoy a rich range of books that represent the school and the wider community it serves. They know about a wide selection of authors and genres and are keen to recommend books for others to read. Most pupils, including those with SEND and those who are disadvantaged, read fluently and accurately.

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Staff work closely with parents and pre-school providers to identify the needs of pupils with SEND as soon as possible after they join the school. Leaders are tenacious when working with outside agencies and specialists to get pupils the help they need. Most parents of pupils with SEND value the support they receive from school staff. Pupils with SEND follow the same curriculum as their peers. They are fully involved in all aspects of school life.

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Pupils’ behaviour very rarely disrupts learning. They are proud of their school and want to do well. Pupils are very well mannered and polite to visitors. When playing or learning, they listen to each other’s views and take turns. Staff ensure that consistent routines provide a calm and safe environment for pupils.

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Most pupils attend school regularly and on time. Leaders’ actions to reduce absence are comprehensive and have been successful for many pupils. Persistent absence has decreased significantly.

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Pupils take their leadership roles seriously. They make an active contribution to school life and the wider community. For example, working as members of the Eco Council and raising money for charities. They enjoy the wide range of clubs on offer in the school. Pupils learn about inclusion and diversity. They understand and value the differences between people and say that all are welcome in their school.

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Staff are proud to work at the school. They say that leaders listen to them. They appreciate the actions of leaders to help them to manage their workload and support their well-being. Staff value the extensive programme of professional development, which enables them to be successful in their roles.

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Governors are well trained and understand the context of the school and the community it serves. They make use of reports from professionals in the trust and external advisers and make frequent visits to the school. Governors challenge and support leaders appropriately. 13 and 14 June 2023

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The school’s safeguarding team swiftly identifies pupils who may be at risk. They work with local services and parents to ensure that pupils are safe. Issues in the local community and school are identified and monitored.

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Safeguarding

Safeguarding leaders know the needs of pupils and make sure that pupils are able to access advice and support. Staff are well trained and know how to keep pupils safe in school.

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Safeguarding

Pupils learn about how to keep themselves safe, including when they are online. They also learn about healthy relationships. As a result, they know how to identify dangers and where to seek help.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a small number of subjects, teachers are not clear about the most important knowledge pupils should learn. As a result, the work given to pupils does not always enable them to understand and retain key knowledge sufficiently well. Leaders should ensure that all teachers have the skills to deliver the curriculum effectively.

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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. 13 and 14 June 2023

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School details

Website https://www.churchdriveprimary.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 Church Drive Primary School joined the Oak Trees Multi Academy Trust in March 2019. When the predecessor school, Church Drive Primary School, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be good overall.  Governors provide breakfast and after-school clubs.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, science, history and geography. For each deep dive, the inspectors met with subject leaders, discussed the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of their work.  The inspectors also considered the curriculum in art, design and technology and 13 and 14 June 2023

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writing.  Inspectors studied a range of documents, including the school’s self-evaluation, the school development plan, attendance data, minutes of governing body meetings and reports from the trust school improvement team.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour throughout the school day, including during lesson visits and at breaktimes and lunchtimes.  Inspectors spoke to groups of pupils about their views on behaviour and the wider experiences they receive at school.  Inspectors met with the leaders responsible for early years and SEND and looked at a range of documentation and planning.  Inspectors held meetings with leaders, including the headteacher, the acting deputy headteacher, governors and a representative of the multi-academy trust.  The inspectors reviewed the arrangements for safeguarding by scrutinising records and through discussions with leaders, staff and pupils.  The views of pupils, parents and staff were gathered through both discussions

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and considering their responses to Ofsted’s online surveys

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Inspection team

Keith Pullen, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Joan Grant Ofsted Inspector 13 and 14 June 2023

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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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