Christ The King Catholic Primary School

Inspection of Christ The King Catholic Primary School Durdells Avenue, Kinson, Bournemouth, Dorset BH11 9EH

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The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Good

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The headteacher of this school is Brian Morton. This school is part of Plymouth CAST, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Zoe Batten (CEO), and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Ruth O’Donovan. 7 and 8 May 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Christ The King Catholic Primary is a school where everyone is welcome. The school’s distinctive ethos is at the centre of learning. It is characterised by inclusive relationships based on nurture and respect. Pupils behave well. They are happy and safe. Pupils trust staff to support and guide them.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have an accurate view of the school. They correctly identified that pupils were underachieving. Therefore, the school has overhauled its curriculum in many areas. It is now ambitious, with sharply focused plans to develop the quality of education. The curriculum is now broad and well organised. Expectations for all pupils’ achievement have risen. However, this work is still in the early stages. As a result, the quality of education that pupils receive is not good.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils develop their talents and interests through clubs such as choir and football. They benefit from visits to places of interest and enrichment experiences. These help to bring the curriculum to life. For example, pupils further their knowledge of geography and science through visits from a mobile planetarium. Pupils build a sense of citizenship through their involvement in civic events. For example, older pupils host Christmas dinner for members of the local community.

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

Since the last inspection, the school, with the support of the trust, has considerably strengthened the curriculum. It sets out the important knowledge and skills pupils need to learn. However, the curriculum is not routinely implemented well. The school does not have sufficient oversight of some areas of curriculum responsibility. As a result, the curriculum is not always taught well. Where this is the case, pupils do not build their knowledge and skills as they should. In addition, checks made on pupils’ learning do not identify the extent of pupils’ knowledge. Therefore, teachers move pupils through some curriculum subjects without addressing ongoing gaps in their knowledge, and other pupils do not move on to deepening or extending their learning.

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

Staff get to know children quickly in the early years. Children begin to develop their understanding in all areas of learning. Nonetheless, there are not sufficient deliberately planned opportunities for children to build their knowledge and skills effectively.

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

There is a renewed focus around reading. Pupils learn about the range of human experience through books and stories. This helps them to understand and relate to the diversity of modern Britain. Pupils speak positively about the books they have read and their favourite authors. Bedtime story initiatives have raised the profile of reading. Pupils appreciate opportunities to read for pleasure.

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

Children begin to learn to read as soon as they start school. Books used to practise reading match the phonics sounds they know. Those who fall behind receive precise support to help them catch up. As a result, pupils quickly gain the knowledge and skills they need to become confident, fluent readers. However, as pupils progress up the 7 and 8 May 2025

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school, the way that reading is taught does not help them to develop their wider reading knowledge and skills. This is reflected in disappointing published outcomes at the end of key stage 2.

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The school accurately identifies and meets the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff have a secure understanding of how to support pupils. They make suitable adaptions, which help pupils in their learning. However, pupils with SEND are subject to the same curriculum deficiencies as their peers.

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The personal development programme for pupils is a strength of the school. Pupils know their moral responsibility to respect and embrace people’s differences. The school is rightly proud of the pastoral support it provides for pupils and their families. Pupils appreciate the ‘Rainbow room’ and ‘Nurture nest’ as places for calm and reflection.

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Pupils play an active part in their school. For example, school councillors organise fundraising events to purchase additional playtime equipment. Through opportunities like these, pupils develop a sense of responsibility.

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The school’s determination and work to improve behaviour have been successful. Pupils behave well. They value the rewards they receive for making positive choices about their learning and behaviour. Beyond the classroom, pupils socialise happily. The school works relentlessly to improve pupils’ rates of attendance. Analysis is used to gain an understanding of any causes of absence. Staff use innovative strategies to reduce absence. While attendance is still below national averages, it has notably improved.

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The school has undergone a period of turbulence in staffing, which has begun to stabilise. The trust and local CAST governors have provided support and challenge to the school. Along with leaders, they have an accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and areas to develop. They are not complacent and continue to drive well-judged improvements forward at pace. Staff appreciate the support they receive from leaders for their well-being and workload.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The use of assessment does not identify whether pupils have learned the curriculum as intended. Therefore, gaps in pupils’ understanding are not identified and rectified. The trust and the school need to ensure that teachers’ use of assessment informs subsequent curriculum planning and teaching, so that all pupils learn successfully.  The school has not ensured that staff have the knowledge required to deliver the curriculum as intended. This means pupils do not reach the focused curriculum goals. 7 and 8 May 2025

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The trust and the school should ensure that teachers have the subject and pedagogical knowledge they need to deliver the curriculum securely.  The school does not have sufficient oversight of some areas of curriculum responsibility. As a result, the curriculum is not always implemented consistently well. Where this is the case, pupils do not build their knowledge and skills as they should. The trust and the school should ensure that all school leaders have the knowledge they need to assure themselves that the curriculum is implemented effectively.

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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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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 special educational needs and/or disabilities (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). 7 and 8 May 2025

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School details

Local authority Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 4 and 5 December 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of Plymouth CAST.  The school uses one unregistered provider of alternative provision.  There is a school-run breakfast- and after-school club.  This is a Roman Catholic school. The last section 48 inspection took place in March 2025.  The school has a pre-school for three- and four-year-old children.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth form 7 and 8 May 2025

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provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade.

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 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspectors held discussions with the interim headteacher, other senior leaders, the special educational needs and/or disabilities coordinator, subject leaders, members of the local CAST governing body, school improvement officers and the director of education who represented the chair of the board of trustees and the CEO.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, geography and history. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. They visited a sample of lessons for each deep dive, apart

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from history, which was not being taught during the course of the inspection.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: 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 inspectors considered responses to the online survey for parents, Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments.

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Inspection team

Liz Geller, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Debbie Tregellas Ofsted Inspector 7 and 8 May 2025

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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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