Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School

Inspection of Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School Gladys Avenue, Portsmouth, Hampshire PO2 9AX

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Overall effectiveness Good

The headteacher of this school is Ursula Clark. This school is part of the Edith Stein Catholic Academy Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Matthew Quinn, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Marc Evans. 21 and 22 May 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are highly enthusiastic about their school. They love the kind, nurturing environment. Pupils appreciate the ‘helping hand’, which ensures they know exactly what to do if they need help in any way. Parents are also highly positive about this school, valuing the caring ethos and family feel. Many parents commented that they appreciate the strong sense of community and belonging at the school. They trust the school to manage any difficulties pupils may have with high levels of compassion and patience.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school seeks for all pupils to get the best start to their education and achieve well. In many subjects, pupils achieve highly. This is because they have strong, positive attitudes to learning. Pupils work hard in lessons, showing high levels of engagement and a thirst for knowledge.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ behaviour is impeccable. They show exemplary levels of respect for both adults and for one another. Pupils listen well to each other when taking part in discussions. They really value one another’s ideas and thoughts, actively building on what their peers have said during conversations. Pupils are highly respectful of difference and value diversity. They explain confidently the importance of appreciating everyone as unique individuals, each with something to offer to society.

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better?

The headteacher, school and trust leaders, and those responsible for governance, work well together to ensure that this school continues to improve rapidly. Staff feel highly valued. High-quality training equips them well to do their very best for all the pupils in the school.

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better?

The school has developed a broad, rich curriculum. The school aims for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to learn knowledge and skills appropriate to their age and relevant to their lives. Individual subjects are at varying stages of development. In the strongest subjects, such as mathematics and history, pupils achieve very well. This is because the tasks teachers design ensure that pupils make connections between concepts and develop their understanding well. For example, in history, pupils in Years 5 and 6 draw on their existing knowledge of the past to understand how migration has shaped the society that we live in today.

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better?

However, a few subjects are at an earlier stage of development. Sometimes, the knowledge pupils must learn and the order in which they need to learn it is not identified clearly enough. Also, occasionally, the information pupils need to learn in topics is too broad. For example, in geography pupils are sometimes required to learn about several different places in the same topic. This risks pupils learning superficial knowledge and making inaccurate generalisations. 21 and 22 May 2024

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Pupils with SEND receive appropriate and effective support. Right from the start of early years, there are clear systems in place to identify children who may need additional help. Careful adaptations, and bespoke provision where necessary, ensure that pupils with SEND learn well and are included fully in the life of the school.

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Teaching pupils to read is a strength of the school. A well-structured programme ensures that pupils learn the phonics knowledge they need. Further support, delivered consistently by expert staff, enables those who need extra help with reading to catch up swiftly if they fall behind. Pupils read books that match their reading ability. This helps them to read confidently and apply their phonics knowledge well. All pupils enjoy reading. In Reception, children enthusiastically join in when listening to high-quality stories and rhymes.

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High expectations and strong consistent routines ensure that pupils’ conduct is exemplary. Pupils appreciate being taught the reasons for school rules. They willingly stick to the rules as they understand that they keep them safe. Furthermore, pupil leaders play a key role in educating their peers about aspects of social conduct, such as bullying and racism. Most pupils attend well. For the very few whose attendance is not as it should be, the school takes a sensible approach to addressing this.

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The school supports pupils’ personal development well. Pupils have a strong understanding of healthy relationships and consent. Children in Reception learn how to resolve conflict and take turns in their play. Older pupils learn about maintaining positive friendships. Visits and special theme weeks enhance the curriculum. To enrich learning about healthy eating, pupils enjoy sampling different foods from the variety of cultures represented in the school. Visitors from different careers introduce pupils to the world of work. This learning is further enhanced by pupils taking on responsibilities in school, including shadowing members of school staff. Pupils also learn the importance of looking out for those less fortunate than themselves through supporting various charities, including the local food bank.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a few subjects, the curriculum is at an earlier stage of development or needs to be refined. This means that the tasks given to pupils do not always enable them to learn as well as they could. The school needs to continue to develop the curriculum, where necessary, to ensure that the whole curriculum reflects that of the strongest subjects and enables pupils to achieve highly. 21 and 22 May 2024

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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’ is used to mean pupils with SEND; pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 21 and 22 May 2024

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School details

Website www.corpuschristi.portsmouth.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 This is larger than the average-sized primary school.  Since the predecessor school was judged inadequate in 2019, the school became an academy sponsored by the Edith Stein Catholic Academy Trust in April 2021. The headteacher joined the school in January 2021.  The school is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth. Its most recent section 48 inspection, for schools of a religious character, was in May 2022.  The school currently uses one registered 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

Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision. 21 and 22 May 2024

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 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  During the inspection, the inspectors met with the headteacher and senior leaders. The lead inspector also met with members of the board of trustees, including the chair of the trust and members of the local governing body, including the chair of governors. The inspector also met with the CEO of the multi-academy trust. They also spoke to a representative from the diocese.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics, art and design and history. For each deep dive, the inspectors 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.

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 The inspectors also considered planning, documentation and pupils’ work from some other subjects.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The views of parents and carers were considered through their responses to Ofsted Parent View. The views of pupils and staff were gathered through surveys, interviews and discussions conducted throughout the inspection.  The inspector reviewed a range of the school’s documents, including self- evaluation reports, minutes of governing body meetings and behaviour incident logs.

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Inspection team

Sue Keeling, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Chris Parker His Majesty’s Inspector 21 and 22 May 2024

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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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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