Christ Church CofE First School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 26 November 2024

Christ Church First School is a nurturing, close-knit community. All pupils, including those that arrive at different points in the school year, are welcomed in and greeted warmly. Pupils arrive at school with smiles on their faces, happy to see their friends, staff and Rusty, the school dog. Pupils behave well. They look forward to their weekly 'star assembly' where they can earn awards for positive behaviour and are encouraged to be 'the best that they can be'. Pupils also speak enthusiastically about their roles as worship leaders and playground buddies. Pupils are respectful of differences. They enjoy learning about people who may have different beliefs to their own. This learning is supported through well planned visits to different places of worship. Pupils look out for one another. Both pupils and staff are mindful of the needs of individuals. This helps pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to feel valued and achieve well. Pupils say they feel safe and that adults are always on hand to help them with any problems they have.

What the school should improve

• The school does not always accurately and robustly check on the impact of its improvement strategies. This means it lacks clarity about what is working well and when additional intervention is required. This sometimes slows the pace of improvement. The school and trust should ensure that improvement strategies are routinely monitored and reported to governors and trustees.
• The school has not defined some of the essential knowledge that pupils need to know well enough in mathematics. As such, teachers do not focus on some of the most useful learning that pupils will need to remember for their future studies. The school should ensure that this key knowledge is better defined in the curriculum so that teachers can further enhance pupils' understanding.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)