Christ The King Catholic Primary School

Christ The King RC Primary School Inspection report

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100450 Unique Reference Number Islington Local Authority 285797 Inspection number 23 °24 May 2007 Inspection dates Charalambos Loizou 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 353 School

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The governing body Appropriate authority Fr J Browne Chair Mr P Campbell Headteacher 30 September 2002 Date of previous school inspection 55 Tollington Park School address London N4 3QW

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020 7272 5987 Telephone number 020 7272 7780 Fax number

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3 °11 Age group 23 °24 May 2007 Inspection dates 285797 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

This is a large school situated in an area of social and economic disadvantage. The pupils are from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds. The proportion of pupils learning English as an additional language is much larger than that found in most schools. The percentage of pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities is average, although an above average percentage has a statement of special educational needs. A significant number of pupils join or leave the school at unusual times. The school has a Nursery for up to 26 three-year-old children and they all attend full-time.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 11 Inspection Report: Christ The King RC Primary School, 23 °24 May 2007

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Grade: 1

Pupils achieve extremely well at this outstanding school. They are enthusiastic learners and mature into courteous and confident young people. Leadership and management are outstanding. The headteacher, deputy headteacher and governors are real assets. The staff share their vision having guided the school towards excellent improvements since its last inspection. Pupils and parents are very pleased with the school. 'Everything is great here, even the work we do', and 'Everything is brilliant. I really love coming here', are a few of many tributes expressed by pupils. Children who join the school in the Nursery or Reception classes start with skills and knowledge that are well below those expected of three and four-year-olds. They make excellent progress in the Foundation Stage because of the high quality of provision. Throughout the school, there is excellent care, guidance and support provided for pupils. Regardless of background or ability,

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Grade: 1

the staff are highly committed to the pupils' safety and all round development. There is excellent racial harmony and community cohesion. The staff have devised an outstanding and well balanced curriculum that successfully promotes the pupils' personal and academic development. Pupils know how to stay fit through exercise, sport and healthy eating. Standards are rising because of outstanding teaching. This is a consequence of highly effective training led by the headteacher and deputy. Improvements to the teaching have had an immediate effect as this year pupils are on course to reach higher standards than in the past. Standards are average by the end of Year 6 in English and science. Outstanding support for those with learning difficulties or disabilities helps them to make excellent progress. Highly effective teaching for pupils in the early stages of learning English helps them to make rapid progress. Pupils achieve extremely well in relation to their low starting points. They make good

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Grade: 1

progress in mathematics although there are relative weaknesses in the development of pupils' skills in applying their knowledge of calculation to problem solving. The pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. Pupils show excellent behaviour and attitudes. They support others, acting as mentors for younger pupils in the science club and when helping as playground buddies at break-times. The effective school council and initiatives such as designing the new school uniform, demonstrate the school's willingness to involve pupils. Relationships are very positive. Pupils are thoughtful and considerate to others in the community, as seen in charity work and activities to support the local church parish. The leadership team has been modest in its assessment of the school because it sets high expectations. However, the quality of self-evaluation is excellent and is based on thorough

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Grade: 1

assessments of the pupils' performance and the quality of teaching. There is an excellent partnership with parents and other schools. Parents feel involved and consulted so the staff are able to respond to any concerns raised and act decisively to improve the school. The school has excellent capacity to improve.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Improve the pupil's calculation and problem solving skills in mathematics. 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Christ The King RC Primary School, 23 °24 May 2007

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Grade: 1

Standards are average and achievement is outstanding. Pupils make excellent progress in relation to their low starting points. Children in the Foundation Stage make rapid progress towards the early learning goals expected of five-year-olds, although standards in communication, literacy and mathematics are below average by the time they start Year 1. Pupils make excellent progress in reading, writing and science and good progress in mathematics. By the end of Years 2 and 6, standards are average in English and science, which represent substantial success. Teachers use highly effective and consistent methods to teach phonics and reading skills which accounts for the excellent progress pupils make in English across the school. However, standards are relatively lower in mathematics because pupils lack the confidence to apply their calculating skills when problem solving. Pupils with learning difficulties

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Grade: 1

or disabilities make exceptional progress towards their individual targets because of highly focused support. Those learning English as an additional language also make rapid progress because they are monitored and supported closely.

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Grade: 1

Pupils' personal development and well-being are outstanding. Their enjoyment of school is reflected in good attendance and excellent behaviour. Social development is excellent because there is a clear sense of fairness, racial harmony and respect for the views of others. Pupils often reflect with maturity on important spiritual and moral issues in the wider world, for example, when requesting the building of the new 'peace garden'. Pupils' excellent cultural development is fostered through music, art, sport and enrichment activities such as visiting theatre groups and artists. Pupils make a very good contribution to the community through charitable fund-raising and joint activities with members of the local parish church. They take pride in representing the views of others through the school council. They know what is necessary to stay fit and make the most of the healthy options offered at lunch time. They understand

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Grade: 1

how to avoid risks both in school and in the world outside. Pupils work well in teams and develop very good basic skills in literacy, numeracy and information communication technology (ICT) that prepare them extremely well for the future.

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Grade: 1

The quality of teaching across the school and Foundation stage is excellent. Teachers use assessment very well to plan tasks in lessons that are well matched to the needs of all pupils. They use interactive whiteboards extremely well to provide visual examples that help pupils understand each stage of their learning. Good questioning extends pupils' thinking. In the best lessons, teachers continually check how well pupils understand. Planning includes clear success criteria to measure pupils' progress and understanding. Pupils support each others' learning very well. They regularly share ideas with their 'talk partners' and often check each others' work to reflect on and assess their own progress. This was seen to good effect in an outstanding literacy lesson where pupils shared discussions on the difficulties of presenting an argument for and against animals being kept in zoos. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities and

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Grade: 1

5 of 11 Inspection Report: Christ The King RC Primary School, 23 °24 May 2007 those learning English as an additional language are supported very well by highly skilled staff. Marking is carried out regularly to inform pupils of how they might improve their work, although this is not always used to best effect to help pupils improve their calculation skills in mathematics.

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Grade: 1

The school provides an excellent curriculum. It is balanced and broad with an extensive range of enrichment that includes the creative arts, sport, visits and visitors. Foundation Stage staff provide a stimulating range of activities for the children that successfully promotes their all round development. In both the Nursery and Reception years, children have a very good balance of indoor and outdoor activities. In Years 1 to 6, the curriculum is responsive to the needs of pupils who join the school at different times. For example, the increasing number of Congolese families has prompted the school to provide opportunities for pupils in Year 4 to learn French. The pupils have excellent opportunities to use ICT across the curriculum. Personal, social and health education is promoted extremely well in many subjects and extra-curricular activities. The staff are quick to adapt their planning and, having identified weaknesses in mathematics,

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Grade: 1

have already put in place practical ways for pupils to develop their problem solving skills.

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Grade: 1

The school provides outstanding care and guidance to its pupils. Pastoral support is strong so pupils feel very safe and at ease in school. They say that there is always someone to turn to if they have any worries. Good attention is paid to child protection and to risk assessments. Pupils most at risk are well supported through committed multi-agency endeavours. Assessment is used extremely well to track pupils' progress and to provide effective support and set challenging targets. One pupil said, 'Teachers are very patient and help us to understand'. Pupils have a very clear understanding of how well they are doing and what they need to do to improve their work. Parents are fully involved in this process and are very complimentary about the school and how it supports their children.

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Grade: 1

Leadership and management are outstanding. Planning for improvement takes full account of staff's, pupils', and parents' views. The accurate analysis of pupils' performance and the impact of teaching are improving standards. The headteacher is visionary and has established a strong leadership team who share in this vision. His quiet determination and modest assessment of the school reflect the very high standards the school sets itself. Governors provide highly effective support. Very good systems are in place to ensure they monitor the school's performance. The school is always looking to improve and is currently developing new ways of teaching mathematics. This was evident in an excellent mathematics lesson for Year 6 pupils, where the innovative use of ICT and problem solving techniques accelerated pupils' progress. The school is continually finding new ways to improve by involving all the staff. It sees itself

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Grade: 1

as a school that, as one senior teacher said, 'Empowers the whole staff and the next stage of middle managers in the school'. Resources are very well managed with current plans in place 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Christ The King RC Primary School, 23 °24 May 2007 to build new classrooms in the Foundation Stage. The school's track record of improvement shows that it has excellent capacity to improve further. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Christ The King RC Primary School, 23 °24 May 2007 .

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Grade: 1

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Christ The King RC Primary School, 23 °24 May 2007

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Inspection judgements

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

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Overall effectiveness

How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of learners? How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 1 The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 1 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 1 The capacity to make any necessary improvements Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

1 How well do learners achieve? 3 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 1 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

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

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and interests of learners?

1 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average to below average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: Christ The King RC Primary School, 23 °24 May 2007

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and supporting all learners?

How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can How effectively and efficiently resources, including staff, are deployed to achieve value for money The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities Yes Do procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements? No Does this school require special measures? No Does this school require a notice to improve? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: Christ The King RC Primary School, 23 °24 May 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

11 June 2007 Dear Children Inspection of Christ The King RC Primary School,London,N4 3QW The inspectors were very pleased to visit your school. I am writing to thank you for your help. You made us feel really welcome. I would also like to thank the school council members who spoke to us. It is clear that you enjoy coming to this outstanding school. There are so many good things about your school that it is hard for me to pick out the very best. However, these are what inspectors were pleased with most: • you are very well behaved and try very hard in lessons • your teachers are brilliant and are helping you to do very well in your studies • you enjoy school and I can see why • we really liked the way you are take part in your lessons and check each other's work • your parents are very pleased with you and your teachers and the school is very helpful to parents and it explains to them what it does for you

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

• the staff take excellent care of you and make sure you are all safe and happy • your headteacher, staff and governors manage the school very well and work hard to keep looking for ways to make the school even better. I have asked your teachers to: • help you learn new ways to solve problems so you can do even better in mathematics. I was particularly impressed with the way you and your parents have chances to suggest ways to improve your school. Keep this up as it is very much welcomed by the staff and governors. Well done, and I wish you all the very best. Yours sincerely Charalambos LoizouLead Inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Christ The King RC Primary School, 23 °24 May 2007

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