Christ Church Church of England Primary School, Shooters Hill

Inspection Report Christ Church Church of England Primary School, Shooters Hill

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100166 Unique Reference Number Greenwich LEA LEA 285329 Inspection number 19 June 2006 to 19 June 2006 Inspection dates Barry Jones AI Reporting inspector

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This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005 which gives Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools the authority to inspect any school in England. The inspection is to be treated as a section 5 inspection under the same Act.

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Shooters Hill School address Primary Type of school London Voluntary aided School category SE18 3RS 4 to 11 Age range of pupils 02088564513 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 02088564797 Fax number 180 Number on roll Mrs Maria Vinante Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Terry Segarty Headteacher 31 August 2006 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 285329 19 June 2006 - 4 to 11 19 June 2006 Inspection Report: Christ Church Church of England Primary School, Shooters Hill, 19 June 2006 to 19 June 2006

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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 one Additional Inspector. The inspector met with the headteacher, pupils, staff and the chair of the governing body. He also scrutinised the school's documentation, pupils' work and case files for looked after children and pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities. A paired observation of a lesson was conducted with the headteacher and all classes were visited. The inspector looked at completed questionnaires returned by 101 parents. Additionally, some parents were in school to observe pupils using information and communication technology and spoke to the inspector.

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Description of the school

Christ Church is a smaller-than-average, voluntary-aided C of E primary school on the outskirts of London. The proportion of pupils who are eligible for free school meals is lower than in most schools. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is broadly average but all are fluent in English. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities is a little less than in most schools.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Christ Church Church of England Primary School, Shooters Hill, 19 June 2006 to 19 June 2006

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Grade: 1

Christ Church is an outstanding school which benefits from excellent leadership and management and continually looks to improve itself further. This partly explains why the school only rated itself as good and underestimated its effectiveness. The school does have an accurate picture of its strengths and what could be improved but its pursuit of excellence means that it has very high expectations of staff and pupils alike and is not easily satisfied. The school is also acutely aware that the accommodation lacks a number of facilities that most schools possess such as a school hall, sufficient outside play area for the youngest pupils and a playing field and this does affect the quality of its provision in some respects. Consequently, it is very creditable that as a result of the school's considerable efforts these disadvantages are largely overcome and pupils' personal development and the curriculum are good but with some

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Grade: 1

outstanding features too. The school is rightly proud of the exceptionally high standards attained consistently by its pupils in national tests and assessments. Given their broadly average starting points, pupils make a good start in the reception class. Outstanding teaching in Year 1 to 6 means that there is a further acceleration in their learning and most pupils make outstanding progress in their time at the school. There is a common and consistent approach to teaching and learning and one of the reasons for the school's success is the high degree of effective teamwork in which the subject coordinators have a crucial key role. This expertise is also shared with other schools, and staff from the school play a leading role in helping to develop numeracy, literacy and information, communication and technology (ICT) and leadership and management in the borough as a whole There are also excellent links with other partners which contribute to the

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Grade: 1

good care for the pupils but also to the developing curriculum and the quality of teaching. The school has been particularly successful in helping with the training of student teachers and has benefited when some of them have then taken up full-time teaching appointments at the school. The school is warm and friendly and parents and other visitors are made to feel very welcome; there is a strong Christian ethos. One of its recent priorities has been to further strengthen the links with parents. The school has an imaginative and open approach and, for instance, provides opportunities for parents to see the school in action and pupils working in areas such as mathematics or using computers. The success of these initiatives is shown by the very high response to the parents' questionnaire and the overwhelming positive response. Typical comments were, `There is an understanding that parents are welcome to arrange a time to discuss problems with

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Grade: 1

the headteacher or class teacher' and, `My child has blossomed under Christ Church's care.' Pupils develop into responsible young people and the quality of relationships at the school is outstanding. Pupils enjoy coming to school and attend well. They show sensitive concern for one another and their spiritual, moral and social development is excellent. There are outstanding aspects to the curriculum that also contribute significantly. French has been introduced into all the classes and every pupil is given 2 Inspection Report: Christ Church Church of England Primary School, Shooters Hill, 19 June 2006 to 19 June 2006 the opportunity to participate in drama productions that are performed for the parents. Standards in music and art are also high and the school has its own band and strings and brass groups. The school exhibited the artwork produced by pupils and received comments including `The work is excellent, you should have more art exhibitions'.

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Grade: 1

Although provision is good generally in the reception class, the school recognises that pupils' physical development is satisfactory but below their own expectations. Within the constraints of the cramped accommodation, the school is doing well for its pupils. The previous inspection found that this was a good school. Since then the results in national tests and assessments have improved, the curriculum has been enhanced in an imaginative and innovative way and management procedures have been strengthened. The school has effectively addressed the issues relating to ICT and links with parents. It has done everything within its power to improve the accommodation for the youngest pupils. This improvement has been accomplished partly because of the excellent leadership of the headteacher and the support of a very effective governing body. However, this is a united community and everyone has played their

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Grade: 1

part. The school gives excellent value for money and its capacity to improve further is very good.

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Grade: 1

The standards in Year 6 are exceptionally and consistently high and given the pupils' average starting points they make outstanding progress overall. There are no underachieving groups and pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities make excellent progress because of the good support that they receive. Higher attaining pupils achieve well and the proportion of pupils attaining the highest level is higher than the national average and improving. Standards in mathematics, science and reading are exceptionally high. Pupils' writing skills are good but are improving further as a result of recent initiatives.

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Grade: 2

The positive, caring ethos permeates the work of the school and means that pupils' development is outstanding in several respects. This includes their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. The school council takes its role seriously and has influenced decisions regarding playground equipment and healthy school dinners. Pupils behave well and feel safe in the school. Pupils' physical development is satisfactory because the school makes arrangements to use facilities not owned by the school. Pupils are well prepared in every other way for continuing onto secondary school. 3 Inspection Report: Christ Church Church of England Primary School, Shooters Hill, 19 June 2006 to 19 June 2006

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Grade: 1

The school has some outstanding teachers and effective sharing of good practice means that the teaching is rarely less than good. Teachers share targets for each pupil in writing, reading and mathematics with the individual pupil and their parents. Pupils receive constructive feedback on their work and consequently they know how to improve. This is valued by the pupils who speak enthusiastically about their work and their teachers. `The teachers make the lessons fun and interesting'.

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Grade: 2

The school provides a rich range of learning activities for the pupils and it is only the limits of the accommodation that prevents it being outstanding. The school places great emphasis on developing the whole child. Hence, there is very good provision for English, mathematics and science but also for the arts and creative work generally. The school has a variety of strategies including, `themed' weeks. Outside speakers and agencies contribute to these and parents are integrally involved. Successful themes include health, ICT, music and Black History.

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Grade: 2

The school provides a very caring environment. Child protection procedures are secure and risk assessments are attended to carefully. Some parents still have some concerns about the security of the site but the school is taking reasonable steps to remedy this in difficult circumstances. Guidance and support to pupils is very good and contributes to their outstanding progress.

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Grade: 1

Excellent leadership by the headteacher has enabled the school to continue to improve. Initiatives undertaken by the senior managers are securely based on the analysis of data. They are rigorously implemented so that pupils' standards continue to rise and the good quality of care is maintained. Management is very good at all levels within the school and the governing body is very effective in acting as a critical friend. 4 Inspection Report: Christ Church Church of England Primary School, Shooters Hill, 19 June 2006 to 19 June 2006 .

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set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s

website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 5 Inspection Report: Christ Church Church of England Primary School, Shooters Hill, 19 June 2006 to 19 June 2006

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Overall

Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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learners?

NA 1 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? NA 2 The quality and standards in foundation stage NA 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation NA Yes The capacity to make any necessary improvements NA Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

NA 1 How well do learners achieve? NA 1 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

NA 1 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners NA 1 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

NA 1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 2 The behaviour of learners NA 2 The attendance of learners NA 1 How well learners enjoy their education NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 3 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 1 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community NA 1 How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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needs and interests of learners?

NA 2 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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needs and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low.

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and supporting all learners?

NA 1 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 1 How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review NA 1 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can NA 1 How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money NA 1 The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities NA Yes The adequacy and suitability of staff to ensure that learners are protected

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The extent to which schools enable learners to be healthy

Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to eat and drink healthily Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to take regular exercise Yes Learners are discouraged from smoking and substance abuse Yes Learners are educated about sexual health

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The extent to which providers ensure that learners stay safe

Yes Procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements Yes Risk assessment procedures and related staff training are in place Yes Action is taken to reduce anti-social behaviour, such as bullying and racism Yes Learners are taught about key risks and how to deal with them

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The extent to which learners make a positive contribution

Yes Learners are helped to develop stable, positive relationships Yes Learners, individually and collectively, participate in making decisions that affect them Yes Learners are encouraged to initiate, participate in and manage activities in school and the wider community

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The extent to which schools enable learners to achieve economic well-being

Yes There is provision to promote learners’ basic skills Yes Learners have opportunities to develop enterprise skills and work in teams NA Careers education and guidance is provided to all learners in key stage 3 and 4 and the sixth form NA Education for all learners aged 14–19 provides an understanding of employment and the economy

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Pupils Thank you for the help and cooperation that you gave me when I inspected your school. I spoke to a group of your school council members. They told me how their responsibilities have increased since they were the `playground committee'. They now have their own budget and have been involved in decisions to provide healthy meals, for instance. I met other pupils in classes and around the school. Everyone was polite and courteous and this helps to make the school such a warm and welcoming place to visitors like myself. You behave well and this means that lessons are not interrupted and everyone can learn. You spoke highly of your teachers and said that they make the lessons fun and interesting and that this helps you to learn. I was very impressed by your school and think that it gives you an outstanding education. You get a good start in the reception class and then make excellent progress until you leave school

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

at the end of Year 6. This is mainly due to the outstanding teaching that you receive and the excellent work done by the headteacher and his staff. This is recognised locally and teachers from your school help other schools. The school makes considerable efforts to provide you with a rich range of experiences. You are able to participate in drama productions which are watched by your parents, the school provides excellent opportunities for you to learn a musical instrument and to play in the school band and there are numerous trips and visits arranged. There is a very strong, Christian ethos in your school.Your parents greatly value the very good work that the school does. I was able to meet a few parents when they came to the school to see you using computers in classes. There are numerous other ways in which the school provides opportunities for parents and carers to be involved in the work of the school.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

You were also clear on what you would like to see improved within the school. The school does what it can but your playground is small and there is no playing field where you can play games as often as you would like.Thank you again and I wish you continued success in the future. Yours sincerely, Barry Jones Lead Inspector

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