Christ Church Bentinck CofE Primary School

Christ Church Bentinck CofE Primary School Inspection report

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101147 Unique Reference Number Westminster Local Authority 276461 Inspection number 11 °12 January 2006 Inspection dates Glynis Bradley-Peat Reporting inspector

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Primary Type of school Voluntary aided School category 3 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll School

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The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Norma Morris Chair Miss Sandra Tyrrell Not previously inspected Date of previous school inspection Cosway Street School address London NW1 5NS

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02076414135 Telephone number 02076415442 Fax number

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3 °11 Age group 11 °12 January 2006 Inspection dates 276461 Inspection number .

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied.

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by three additional inspectors.

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Description of the school

Christ Church Bentinck is a larger than average primary school. The acting head teacher and acting deputy head teacher have only been in their present posts since the beginning of this term. The percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals is well above average. The proportion of pupils who come from minority ethnic groups and speak English as an additional language is well above average. The number of pupils with special educational needs is about average although this varies greatly between year groups.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 7 Inspection Report: Christ Church Bentinck CofE Primary School, 11 °12 January 2006

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What the school should do to improve further

Focus on: Raising standards in English by giving pupils more opportunities to use their writing skills in a range of subjects. Expecting more of higher attaining pupils, especially in English.

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Grade:

Pupils learn well because they value their education and because teaching is good. The school experiences difficulty in the recruitment and retention of staff because of the expense of local housing. To overcome this, managers make sure that teachers are appropriately skilled through regular training. An example of this is the good use all staff make of the new interactive whiteboards to make learning more fun.Teachers and assistants know their pupils well. There are very good systems for tracking pupils' progress in English and mathematics and teachers make good use of these to set termly targets for groups of pupils. These targets are understood by pupils and help them to improve their work and progress to the next level. Planning is thorough and generally matches activities to what pupils have learned before. Teaching assistants are used well to support the learning of pupils in the classroom. However, teachers do not

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always have sufficiently high expectations of what higher attaining pupils can achieve, especially in English.

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Grade:

The broad and balanced curriculum is good and makes a positive contribution to pupils' ability to stay safe and healthy. The curriculum plans across all subjects are implemented effectively and this is demonstrated by good lesson planning. However, there are too few opportunities to write at length in other subjects besides English. Staff encourage pupils' creative skills and this is reflected in good quality art work. Those at an early stage of learning English are given work which is well matched to their needs and they benefit from good support. There is provision for a wide range of experiences giving all pupils a chance to succeed. Many visits and visitors help to make lessons interesting and exciting and the school has successful links with the Royal Albert Hall and Bloomsbury Theatre. Pupils have also benefited from visits by artists and have created bronze sculptures. The school also holds mathematics and science weeks where pupils'

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Grade:

skills are developed through investigation. The school encourages pupils to take part in a variety of extra curricular activities including the 'Christian club', chess club, street dance club and football club, amongst others, which contributes much to their self confidence and life skills. 4 of 7 Inspection Report: Christ Church Bentinck CofE Primary School, 11 °12 January 2006

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Staff provide good care, guidance and support for pupils which matches the school's own assessment. Parents are confident that their children are safe at school. Child protection procedures are effective and all staff have recently received training. Relationships between adults and pupils are good and pupils are encouraged to speak about their concerns.Pupils settle quickly when they join the school. Speedy assessment and effective induction procedures enable suitable support to be put into place quickly. The welcoming approach of both staff and pupils helps newcomers, often with little English, to feel that they belong to the school very quickly. Support for pupils who have difficulties with behaviour is good and is having a positive impact across the school. Pupils and their parents take part in the setting and review of individual targets that guide pupils in their learning. Parents are encouraged to help their

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children at home to achieve these targets.

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5 of 7 Inspection Report: Christ Church Bentinck CofE Primary School, 11 °12 January 2006 .

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Grade:

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 of 7 Inspection Report: Christ Church Bentinck CofE Primary School, 11 °12 January 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you for the lovely welcome we received from you when we visited your school earlier this week. We enjoyed watching you in your lessons, assemblies and when you were playing. We would like to thank those of you who took the time to talk to us about the interesting things that happen in your school and about what you do.You told us that you enjoyed coming to school. We are happy to be able to tell you that your school is a good school and your head teacher knows how she can make it even better. Your behaviour around the school is good and you are very polite and helpful. In the playground, you play together nicely. You know how to keep yourself healthy and safe and why you should exercise. You also know about eating food that is good for you and the school council had some interesting things to say about this! We also like the way that you welcome new children into your school and make friends with them quickly. You, and your teachers, understand how

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

hard it is when new children don't speak much English. You do well in most of your lessons because of good teaching, but we think that some of you could do even better in English, especially with your writing. Your enthusiastic and hard working teachers are planning to help you to do this by giving you opportunities to write more in other subjects. In some lessons the work is a bit too easy for some of you so the school has been asked to make sure that there is some harder work particularly in English.We know that your head teacher and her staff will work very hard to make these improvements and you can help them by working hard and doing your best. 7 of 7 Inspection Report: Christ Church Bentinck CofE Primary School, 11 °12 January 2006

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